Closure of All Schools in Tehran and Emergency Preparedness Due to Air Pollution

Air pollution in Tehran has led to the closure of schools, emergency preparedness, and the convening of the Tehran Province Air Pollution Emergency Task Force on Saturday morning. The Director General of Education in Tehran announced on Saturday, December 28, that all schools in Tehran would be closed on Sunday and Monday due to air pollution. However, this announcement was later corrected, and the spokesperson for the Tehran Education Department and the Deputy for Urban Development of Tehran Province emphasized in separate statements that schools would only be closed on Sunday. The decision to close schools was made after the Tehran Province Air Pollution Emergency Task Force convened due to the air pollution in Tehran, according to ISNA news agency. Mohammad Rostegari, Deputy for Monitoring and Evaluation of the Tehran Environmental Protection Agency, told ISNA that it was decided in this meeting that daily traffic permits would not be issued until the end of the week. He also noted that emergency services would be on standby for Tehran residents until the end of the week. Another decision made by the Tehran Province Air Pollution Emergency Task Force was to suspend the activities of sand and gravel mines around the province and construction activities in the Tehran, Rey, and Shemiranat areas until the end of the week. Additionally, Alireza Mahdavi Shahroudi, the Director General of Public Relations for Tehran Province, stated in an interview with ISNA that public sports activities in green spaces and parks in Tehran would be temporarily halted, and traffic restrictions would be imposed throughout the city, which the traffic police would communicate to citizens. Mr. Mahdavi Shahroudi also advised people to minimize their travel in Tehran on Sunday and Monday and only to move for essential purposes. Meanwhile, Ali Akbar Sayyari, Deputy Minister of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education, said that the meeting of the Tehran Province Air Pollution Emergency Task Force was convened at the request of this ministry. He pointed out that whenever the levels of carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and particulate matter smaller than 10 microns and 2.5 microns reach 200 or more, a crisis committee is formed, and emergency conditions are declared, where decisions are made regarding traffic control, school closures, and other measures. Khosrow Sadeghniyat, Head of the Environmental Health and Work Center of the Ministry of Health, stated last Tuesday that due to the increase in morning dust and the phenomenon of temperature inversion continuing in Tehran, 'not only at-risk groups but also other individuals should avoid being outdoors as much as possible.' Tehran and other major cities in Iran face air pollution for many days of the year. This issue, according to some health and environmental officials, has negative consequences for the health of residents in these cities. In this regard, Mehrdad Bavaj Lahouti, Vice President of the Environmental Faction in Parliament, stated in September of this year that '3,000 people die annually in Tehran due to air pollution.' Meanwhile, according to ISNA, Abolfazl Ghanavati, a member of the Tehran City Council, criticized what he called 'the government's wrong decisions,' stating that 'these decisions exacerbate air pollution.' He criticized the 'island-like operation of responsible agencies' in this regard, adding that 'the lack of centralized management in solving the air pollution problem has caused air pollution to periodically manifest and create serious problems for the people of Iran's capital.' This member of the Tehran City Council referred to his criticisms of the government regarding the unfulfilled promise of the Minister of Oil to solve the funding problem for the Tehran Metro. Abolfazl Ghanavati further criticized the government and other organizations for not allocating a portion of their budgets to public health concerning air pollution, stating that if this had been done, we would not be in a state of alert now. He also described the decision to provide a 25 million Toman loan for car purchases as wrong, saying that the government could have used this loan to renew old taxis or to purchase subway cars to solve metro problems. He had previously stated in September that the presence of old vehicles was one of the factors contributing to Tehran's air pollution and that no suitable solutions had been proposed to address it. Meanwhile, Masoumeh Ebtekar, Head of the Environmental Protection Organization, stated on Sunday evening, December 22, in a special news interview on Iranian state television that there is a serious will in the government to reduce air pollution. She mentioned 'improving fuel quality, eliminating polluted gasoline and petrochemicals, and raising the quality of gasoline to Euro 4 standards' as some of the government's most important actions to reduce air pollution.