Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec.5 /Trend F.Milad/
Schools, universities and government offices are closed in 5 Iranian cities due to the air pollution and this leads to daily loss of 800 billion rials (some $65 million), a member of Iranian Parliament (Majlis) said on Wednesday.
Tehran accounts for three quarters of the mentioned loss, the IRIB News Agency quoted Mohammad-Reza Tabesh as saying.
Deputy Head of Iran's Environment Protection Organization (IEPO) Ali- Mohammad Shaeri said on Wednesday that some 40 industrial units including cement and tar production units were temporarily shut in Iran's capital Tehran in a move to control the alarming level of air pollution.
Tehran cement factory is also allowed to use just 40 percent of its capacity until further notice, the Mehr News Agency quoted Shaeri as saying.
Schools, universities and government offices were closed in Tehran on Tuesday and Wednesday because of high air pollution, while the hospitals and banks remained open.
The residents were also advised by the officials to avoid unnecessary travels.
Levels of pollution caused mainly by vehicle fumes have risen in the past few days in Tehran and some other big cities. The problem is worst in the capital because of its location wedged between two mountains where polluted air becomes trapped.
IRNA new Agency reported that schools and universities in Arak, main city of the Markazi province, had been closed on Monday and Tuesday.
Authorities in Tehran often order the closure of schools and government offices in autumn, when the air is stiller and high pollution levels cause health problems.