Annual damage of air pollution in Iran is approximately $500 million

A World Bank report indicates that the annual financial loss brought about as a result of air pollution in Iran is approximately $500 million.

According to a report from the regime-run news agency ILNA, the United Nations environmental experts in their latest report to developing countries, in Asia and Latin America have warned that they are in serious danger by air pollution. According to this chart, Iran was ranked 17 in pollution among 133 countries.

According to experts this is partly as a result of random and sloppy urban and suburban sprawl around Tehran, partly as a lack of attention to the construction regulations in city planning, as well as a lack of general urban services including health care, cultural, social, economic and employment opportunities in smaller cities which has lead to the provincial and rural populations plummeting and moving to Tehran, leading to an excess of cars and traffic. Citizens of Tehran are therefore longing to see blue skies.

Studies indicate that every person in Tehran breathes in an out 22,000 times a day, inhaling an equivalent to 16 kilos of air, this is while healthy air is made up of 78% Nitrogen, 20% Oxygen, argon 93/100th% Argon, 30/100th% of Carbon dioxide and a little bit of methane and some ineffective gases that makes up Hydrogen.

Daily 3000 tons of Carbon monoxide enters Tehran’s air; with the ever increasing tonnage of these emission and the daily increase in automobiles indications are according to existing statistics, that at least 17,000 people of this city are smoke stricken on a daily basis and in serious health danger.

Although the phenomenon of regressive air is repeated every year and every country’s capitol can be at risk from many economic, health, cultural, political and diplomatic factors, no effective steps to eliminate this problem has been taken in Iran and even if intermittently measures have been implemented, it has been entirely inadequate and only a temporary solution which was never followed up.

Dr. Youssef Rashidi, managing director of the air quality control company said that the actualization of the purity of Tehran air requires programs and goals as well as an increase of use of clean-fuel cars in the capital, as well as the development of public transportation which must reach a similar stage.

Also, Farhad Goudarzi, an expert in urban traffic believes that city management can be effective in reducing air pollution if the comprehensive plan for reducing air pollution that was drawn up in 1995 is implemented; due to lack of seriousness of the regime, at the time the report came out, it was ignored. Goudarzi says: “Greater Tehran unfortunately lacks scientific management to reduce air pollution and it is the area where extremely polluting industries without expert handling have been established.”