Abbas Shahsavani, a faculty member at Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, stated that the number of polluted days and deaths attributed to air pollution has been rising year after year, placing air pollution among the five leading causes of death in the country.
On Tuesday, November 25, Shahsavani told the state-run Tasnim News Agency that the number of “unhealthy for all groups” days has tripled this year.
According to his data, from the start of the year (March 21) through November 23, the number of “unhealthy for sensitive groups” days in Tehran has increased by about 40% compared to the same period last year.
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The number of “unhealthy for all groups” days in the capital has also tripled compared to 2024.
Reports indicate that on November 25, Tehran’s air quality reached the red zone, hazardous for everyone.
In recent weeks, the capital and other cities across Iran have consistently been in the orange or red zones.
On November 25, the air quality in Karaj, Qazvin, Ahvaz, Isfahan, Urmia, and Zanjan also reached the red and hazardous level for all individuals.
Due to worsening air pollution and a surge in influenza, schools in seventeen provinces were closed or switched to online classes on November 25 and 26.
These provinces include East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan, Isfahan, Alborz, Tehran, South Khorasan, Razavi Khorasan, North Khorasan, Khuzestan, Zanjan, Sistan and Baluchestan, Qazvin, Kerman, Lorestan, Markazi, Hamedan, and Yazd.
Air pollution as a major driver of fatal illnesses in Iran
Air pollution does not only cause coughing, wheezing, or eye irritation; it also leads to more severe consequences, including respiratory diseases such as chronic bronchitis and asthma, increased risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s, and even death.
The Beheshti University faculty member told Tasnim that 45% of deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 30% of deaths linked to heart disease and cardiac arrest, 28% of deaths caused by strokes, and 20% of diabetes-related deaths in Iran are attributed to air pollution.
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According to Shahsouni, 24% of lung cancer deaths and 23% of deaths caused by lower respiratory infections are also due to air pollution.
Overall, based on data provided by this Health Ministry official, around 54,000 deaths were attributed to air pollution in 2024, making it one of the five leading causes of death in Iran.
Shahsouni said the number of air-pollution-related deaths for 2025 cannot yet be estimated, but since polluted days are more numerous this year, the number of attributed deaths will naturally be higher.
In recent months, varying reports on the number of air pollution victims in Iran during 2024 have been published, sometimes with significant discrepancies.
Alireza Raisi, the deputy health minister of Iran’s regime, announced in early November that around 59,000 people had died due to air pollution, although earlier, in August, Shahsouni had put the figure at “more than 35,000.”
