The Haze of Hormozgan

On Saturday, March 7, air pollution in Hormozgan province in southern Iran reached dangerous levels as dust particles covered Bandar Abbas and a number of other cities in the region.

Dust storms have hit huge areas of Iran since the beginning of the year, including in Khuzestan and Western Azarbaijan. In the most recent storms, pollution levels were more than seven times higher in some towns than what is considered to be healthy.

The Ministry of Education in Hormozgan closed down all schools in Bandar Abbas on Saturday afternoon. It issued a statement saying other towns could do the same if it was considered necessary on health grounds, and advised schools and regional governments to liaise on the matter.

Fatemeh Norouzian, the director of social affairs of Hormozadgan’s University of Medical Sciences, advised people in Bandar Abbas, especially those suffering from cardiac and respiratory conditions, older people, children and pregnant women, to stay indoors.

Talking to the Islamic Republic News Agency in Hormozgan, Norouzian advised citizens to wear masks with special filters. She said that, when wearing a mask, people still had to take deep breaths, so it was important to ensure they were using the correct type. “With ordinary masks,” she said, “the dust particles could seriously affect the respiratory system” and could cause respiratory complications including inflammation, allergies and asthma. She also warned that the eyes could be badly affected by the particles.

The Hormoz news website reported that authorities closed the tourist attraction of Barhiqani port because of the “intensity of the haze and the turbulent sea.”

Quoting Saeed Ranjbar, the director for the government climatology unit in Hormozgan, Hormoz Agency reported that “Dust haze in the eastern, central and northern parts of the province, as well as in Hormoz Strait, intensified on Saturday, but began to subside on Sunday to a certain extent.”

“The air pollution in Bandar Abbas at 7:00 am on Saturday reached its peak of 1000 micrograms, 7.5 times higher than the permissible level,” said Majid Vafadar, the directing manager of Environment Department in Hormozgan Province. “Although it dropped to 850 micrograms by midday, the situation will continue until Monday. Until it reaches 250 micrograms, conditions will remain critical and citizens should be cautious,” Vafadar told Hormoz.

Read the original article in Persian