![Heavy pollution shuts schools in Iran's capital](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2016/11/_2/740x404/pic_1479133568.jpg)
Heavy Pollution Shuts Schools In Iran's Capital
Sumaira FH Published November 14, 2016 | 07:20 PM
![Heavy pollution shuts schools in Iran's capital](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2016/11/_2/740x404/pic_1479133568.jpg)
TEHRAN, , (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Nov, 2016 ) - Iran shut schools and apologised to tourists Monday as its cities were hit by choking levels of air pollution. A blanket of brown-white smog descended on the capital Tehran on Sunday, blocking views of the mountains that line its northern edge and forcing many of its 14 million residents to retreat indoors or don face masks in the street.
The pollution in Tehran hit 156 on the Air Quality Index of deadly airborne particles, over the 150 considered "unhealthy" for the general public. In tourist hotspot Isfahan the level hit 167.
Officials apologised to foreign visitors for the bleak conditions. "We hope our people's hospitality wipes the grey image of Tehran's beautiful attractions from their minds," the capital's tourism boss Rajab Ali Khosroabadi told the ISNA news agency.
Kindergartens and Primary schools in Tehran were ordered to stay closed Monday and Tuesday, and traffic restrictions were tightened. Ambulances were deployed to wait in the busiest and dirtiest areas amid warnings that children, the elderly and those with existing health conditions were at particular risk.
"Since no one does anything, every year the problem gets worse. The government should block old cars. We must improve public transport," Zeynab Nazari, a first-year sociology student, told AFP.
Every year, Tehran suffers some of the worst pollution in the world when cool autumn temperatures cause an effect known as "temperature inversion".
The phenomenon creates a layer of warm air above the city that traps pollution from some 10 million cars and motorbikes.
The latest smog cloud is expected to hang over the city until Wednesday when forecasters hope winds will move the stagnant air, an official told state television. Tehran mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf rode the metro to work Sunday in a bid to encourage people to use public transport.
Despite having around 100 stations, Ghalibaf says the metro is not sufficiently funded by central government, forcing millions to rely on cars. Pollution has become a political football in recent years, with conservatives and reformists blaming each other for the problem.
Hardliners accuse reformist vice-president Massoumeh Ebtekar, who heads the environmental protection agency, of not doing enough. Ultra-conservative daily Vatane Emrooz said Monday that 70 percent of deaths in Tehran were linked to pollution.
Ebtekar, in an Instagram post, said various measures to reduce factory pollution and provide cleaner petrol had led to "significant" improvement. Still, weather conditions and heavy congestion remain a blight. Two traffic restriction zones -- introduced in 1979 and 2005 -- have done little to solve the problem.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
![Cricket: England v West Indies 3rd Test scoreboard](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019914.jpg)
Cricket: England v West Indies 3rd Test scoreboard
![Finance minister briefs Chinese officials on refor ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019922.jpg)
Finance minister briefs Chinese officials on reform agenda, engagement with IMF
![Finland says Russian vessel violated its territori ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019912.jpg)
Finland says Russian vessel violated its territorial waters
![Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019266.jpg)
Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine
![West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019264.jpg)
West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third Test
![Ukraine court orders detention of suspect in murde ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019262.jpg)
Ukraine court orders detention of suspect in murder of nationalist ex-MP
![Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris ope ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019015.jpg)
Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris opening ceremony
![Rana Sanaullah Khan joins Paris 2024 Olympics inau ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019638.jpg)
Rana Sanaullah Khan joins Paris 2024 Olympics inauguration reception
![Glowing tributes mark 69th birthday of President Z ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019637.jpg)
Glowing tributes mark 69th birthday of President Zardari at Governor's House
![Players unaware of spying scandal as Canada Olympi ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019635.jpg)
Players unaware of spying scandal as Canada Olympic coach sent home: official
![Naqvi hails Pak women cricketers for going down fi ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019013.jpg)
Naqvi hails Pak women cricketers for going down fighting against SL
!['Sabotage' on French rail network before Olympics: ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019634.jpg)
'Sabotage' on French rail network before Olympics: What we know
More Stories From World
-
Biden talks Gaza ceasefire efforts with king of Jordan
5 hours ago -
Sinaloa Cartel co-founder pleads not guilty after stunning US capture
5 hours ago -
Panama says Venezuela blocked ex-presidents going to observe polls
5 hours ago -
Ethiopia mourns victims of landslide tragedy
5 hours ago -
Khan Yunis fighting displaces 180,000 Gazans in four days: UN
5 hours ago -
Trump slams rivals as he meets Netanyahu in Florida
6 hours ago
-
Obama & his wife, Michelle, officially endorse US VP Kamala Harris for president
6 hours ago -
Rain, cooling slow huge blaze in Canada's Jasper park
6 hours ago -
Airbus and Boeing supremacy secure despite turbulence
6 hours ago -
S.African police detain 95 Libyans at suspected military camp
6 hours ago -
'Slapping therapist' guilty over UK diabetic woman's death
7 hours ago -
Panama says Venezuela blocked flight of ex-presidents going to observe polls
7 hours ago