NCRI – Air pollution in Tehran kills 2,700 people a year – or around 52 a week, the latest official figures have revealed.
The Iranian capital is now one of the world’s most polluted cities, according to the report by the World Health Organization.
A Tehran municipal official said between 150 and 170 people die every day in the city, but this figure soars by ten per cent when pollution hits peak levels.
He blamed the public transportation system, poor quality domestic fuel and the use of non-standard vehicles on the health crisis which blights the lives of millions of residents, especially children, the elderly and the sick.
In the southern city of Ahwaz, more than 50 people were hospitalized on November 5 when air pollution levels spiked.
The head of the provincial health department said another 5,000 people needed urgent medical treatment in Ahwaz, named in the WHO report as the world’s most polluted city.
The Iranian cities of Kermanshah, Sanandaj and Yasouj were also listed among the most polluted cities in the WHO study published by the business news website Quartz.
