23 Iranian provinces affected by dust storms

Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 30 /Trend, N. Umid

At least 23 Iranian provinces are currently being affected by dust storms, Iranian Vice President and head of Environmental Protection Organization Massoumeh Ebtekar said, ISNA news agency reported.

The capital city of Tehran was affected by dust storms for 117 days of the last solar year (ended on March 21), ISNA quoted Tehran Province's Environment Department director Mohammad-Hadi Heidarzadeh as saying.

He also went on to note that despite in the past the sources of the dust storms were from abroad, currently the main sources are inside the Province.

According to Iranian media outlets, the dust clouds were brought on by wind storms from Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

In February, the Iranian Ministry of Health announced that each year 80,000 people in Iran die of environmental pollution which is 21 per cent of the overall annual death percentage in Iran.

Tehran which spreads over an area of 900 square kilometres is considered one of the world's most polluted cities. On weekdays, the city's population reaches 15 million, leading to traffic jams and high pollution in the city centre.

Some experts believe that the main reason of Tehran's heavy air pollution today is because car manufacturing in the country is being done at a lower level and the amount of manufacturing should be reduced.

Iran has previously had laws implemented for dealing with the problem of air pollution. However none of them worked.