Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 26
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Air quality has reached emergency level in Iran's north western Urmia city, Saeed Mousavi, an official with local environment protection department said.
The concentration of dust particles in the city's air has risen to about two times the acceptable level, Mousavi said, Mehr news agency reported Apr. 26.
The dust particles were at 276 micrograms per cubic meter, he said, adding a maximum of 150 micrograms of dust particles per cubic meter is considered acceptable.
In recent years, dust pollution in the western part of Iran has grown in frequency and density. It has on occasions caused people serious respiratory problems, sometimes even forcing them to seek hospital care.
The dust particles are believed to be the result of dust being carried by atmospheric circulation from lands to the west of Iran.
Some have blamed the desertification of lagoons in Iraq and the strong winds from the deserts of Saudi Arabia for the blanket of dust reaching Iranian cities.