Smog Causes School Shut Down In Iran; Construction, Public Transport Blamed For Problem

On Sunday, the average airborne concentration of hazardous particles in Tehran was six times higher than the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended maximum. As a result, schools in the Iranian capital of Tehran were canceled due to the heavy smog.

School closures for Sunday will continue until Monday, the third day of the Iranian workweek.

Because the pollution levels were deemed “unhealthy,” officials warned sensitive groups such as the young, the elderly and those with respiratory illnesses to stay indoors. Officials also imposed an odd-even traffic scheme based on vehicle registration to reduce traffic, and trucks were banned completely. All activities at sand quarries are also stopped.

According to members of the public, continuous constructions and a lack of diverse public transport are the main contributors to their air pollution problem. In fact, a taxi driver even noted the “electrification of public transport” to be the solution.

Sure enough, a World Bank report that was released last year revealed motorbikes, heavy vehicles, power plants and refineries to be the main sources of pollution in the capital.

Unfortunately, the problem only grows worse during wintertime when a process called thermal inversion traps the harmful smog in the city for days at a time because of the cold air and a lack of moving wind.

It was in the 1900s when the term “smog” was used to describe the combination of “smoke” and “fog.” Back then, the problem came from coal factories and industrial areas, and, unfortunately, the problem still persists even in the modern world.

Today, the smog we see is actually photochemical smog that arises when sunlight reacts with nitrous oxides that typically come from car exhausts, coal plants, and factory emissions, and with volatile organic compounds (VOC) that come from paints, gasoline and cleaning compounds.

Smog is common in large cities where there are many factories and vehicles, and when it happens, it turns the skies gray or brown in color. In fact, the problem is so severe in some parts of the world that cities are choking from the thick air pollution.

For instance, just this past January, Thailand authorities had to inject clouds with inert chemicals just to induce rainfall after the Air Quality Index deemed the air in Bangkok to be unhealthy at 150-200 micrograms per cubic meter. The acceptable level, according to WHO, is under 25.

South Korea also reached similar levels of fine dust, prompting authorities to impose emergency measures. Even cities such as Los Angeles and Mexico City tend to have smog problems because of their location in the valley that traps the smog.

Smog is unhealthy for people, animals, plants and the environment. Simple measures such as driving less, taking care of the cars we own, avoiding the use of gas-powered equipment, as well as products with VOCs, can help reduce the amount of smog.