Several cities across different provinces in Iran have been affected by air pollution and dust storms, disrupting the daily lives of residents.
Hossein Zafari, spokesperson for the regime’s Crisis Management Organization, said on Monday, September 15, that the provinces of North Khorasan, Razavi Khorasan, Golestan, and Semnan are experiencing reduced air quality, lower visibility, and increased pollution levels.
He attributed this pollution to the arrival of a massive dust front from Turkmenistan and predicted that the situation would continue until the end of the week.
Iranian media reported that based on a decision by the North Khorasan provincial crisis management headquarters, government offices and executive bodies in the province (except Esfarayen) were closed from 11 a.m. on Monday.
More Than 35,000 Pollution-Related Deaths Recorded In Iran in 2024
The closure was attributed to rising dust levels in North Khorasan’s atmosphere.
Videos circulating on social media showed the “very unhealthy” air quality in Bojnurd, North Khorasan, due to heavy dust.
In recent weeks, the air quality index in Tehran, Mashhad, and Ahvaz had reached the red level and the dangerous “brown” status.
Reports on September 15 also indicated that air pollution in Ahvaz worsened due to smoke from fires in the Iraqi section of the Huralazim wetland.
These conditions are considered extremely dangerous for patients with respiratory issues, the elderly, children, and other vulnerable groups. Health officials have therefore advised citizens to avoid unnecessary outdoor activities.
On September 14, Shahriar Askari, public relations director of Khuzestan’s Environmental Protection Department, reported that the air quality in four cities—Ahvaz, Dezful, Hoveyzeh, and Behbahan—was in the “unhealthy” and “red” zones.
In past years, the air quality in Ahvaz and several other Khuzestan cities has repeatedly deteriorated due to fires in the Huralazim Marshes.
In recent years, air pollution has repeatedly reached critical levels, while dust storms have intensified environmental challenges and public health risks.
Despite the growing dimensions of this crisis, the Iranian regime has yet to adopt a systematic and sustainable approach to addressing it.
Abbas Shahsavani, deputy director of the Air Pollution and Climate Change Research Center at Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, announced in late August that deaths attributed to air pollution in Tehran had increased by 5% between 2017 and 2024.
In August, the state-run daily Etemad reported that more than 35,000 people in Iran died due to air pollution in 2024, a figure that has risen compared to two years earlier.
The economic cost of these deaths and pollution-related diseases is estimated at around $12 billion, equivalent to about 5% of the country’s GDP.
