Air Pollution in Sistan Reaches '5 Times the Permissible Limit'

The head of the forecasting and warning group of the Meteorological Organization of Sistan and Baluchestan announced on Saturday, August 5, that air pollution in Sistan has reached five times the permissible limit. According to the IRNA news agency, Ali Malashahi stated that 'the wind accompanied by dust has increased the concentration of suspended particles in the air of the northern counties of the province (Zabol, Hirmand, Zahedan, Nimruz, and Hamun) to about five times the permissible limit in the past 24 hours.' He added: 'The strong winds accompanied by dust in Sistan, with speeds of 83 kilometers per hour, have reduced air quality and visibility in Zahedan to four thousand meters and in Zabol to five thousand meters.' According to this meteorological official, the strong winds and dust that began last Tuesday in the northern province will continue until late Saturday. Mr. Malashahi stated, 'Due to the drying of the international Hamun wetland, sometimes with the strong winds of the 120-day winds, the temperature in the Sistan region increases significantly.' Dust storms in Sistan have sent 329 people to medical centers. The director of the crisis management office of Sistan and Baluchestan announced on Friday, August 5, that the increase in the concentration of suspended particles in the air due to the dust storm in the past three days has sent 329 residents of the Sistan region to medical centers and hospitals. According to the state news agency IRNA, Gholamreza Arabi added: 'These individuals have visited medical centers in the northern province with respiratory, cardiac, and eye problems. Every year, the 120-day winds in Sistan begin in the second half of June and continue with fluctuations until early October. Meanwhile, the Tasnim news agency noted that this is not the first time that with the onset of the 120-day winds in the Sistan region, due to dust storms, people are facing eye and respiratory problems, reporting that 19 individuals have been hospitalized. In recent months, coinciding with the onset of the 120-day winds in the Sistan region, hundreds of citizens have been sent to hospitals and medical centers. Additionally, many flights in the region have been canceled, numerous urban and rural transportation routes in Sistan have been blocked due to shifting sands, and many villages have been surrounded by shifting sands for several days. Sistan and Baluchestan province, with an area of about 187,502 square kilometers and 19 counties and a population of over 2.8 million, is considered the largest province in Iran, which, according to IRNA, may simultaneously experience several phenomena including storms, rainfall, floods, and rough seas. The Sistan region in the north of this province has faced drought crises and dust storms in recent years, and the spread of eye, respiratory, and pulmonary diseases caused by these storms has posed serious problems for the people of this region. On July 23 of this year, Iranian media reported that the temperature in Zahedan reached over 43.4 degrees Celsius after 69 years, setting a record.