All Iranian provinces except Mazandaran and Gilan are "surrounded by fine dust"
The state-run IRNA news agency says that due to reduced vegetation cover, increased desertification, and other issues, all provinces of Iran except Mazandaran, Gilan, and part of Golestan Province are currently surrounded by fine dust.
IRNA reported on January 14 that eight million hectares of the 35 million hectares of desert in Iran are facing the threat of dust storms and becoming a hotbed of wind erosion.
According to IRNA, "the significant reduction in vegetation cover in the desert" is one of the main reasons for the increase in wind erosion hotspots.
Other challenges include "increasing desertification," "increasing environmental problems," continuous droughts, or decreased rainfall.
Soil is usually composed of hard materials, mineral and organic compounds, living organisms, water, and air. Water erosion is a common phenomenon in soil erosion. Wind erosion is another effective factor in soil erosion.
Fine dust refers to a collection of dry particles in the air. Of course, the National Dust Control Headquarters says that fine dust is wrong and the correct term is dust or dirt. However, some other experts say that these two phenomena are separate from each other.
Warnings about the state of fine dust, soil erosion, and the problems it causes are not new in Iran, and in recent years, both government officials and experts have spoken about their occurrence and consequences.
Air pollution and particulate matter have so far led to the closure of educational centers, disruption of citizens' daily lives, migration, increased visits to medical centers and various physical complications, as well as protests, marches, and various gatherings.
In May of this year, an official from the Ministry of Agricultural Jihad said that if the current trend and "neglect" continue, the rate of desertification hotspots producing fine dust will reach 77 percent by 2022, and its spread will threaten more than half of Iran's entire population.
In mid-December, Manouchehr Gorji, the head of the Iranian Soil Science Association, warned that Iran experiences two billion tons of soil erosion annually and "no one is responsible for protecting it."
Mr. Gorji had said that one billion tons of this soil would be deposited in dams and another one billion tons would be converted into "deadly fine dust."
A year ago, Ismail Najjar, head of the country's Crisis Management Organization, said that desertification in Iran is increasing "widely" and the phenomenon of micro-dust has become a "super-disaster."
However, there are also recommendations and strategies to combat this phenomenon, such as the soil conservation programs that the United States adopted about eight decades ago. Experts have also offered advice on personal and individual care.
Of course, fine dust in Iran is not only of domestic origin, and a significant amount is also imported from other countries in the region, which experts say requires increased regional cooperation to combat. However, it is unclear how seriously this issue will be taken in the current situation and political tensions.
Source: Radio Farda
