Increase in Respiratory Patients; Effects of Air Pollution on Human Health

Air pollution, which is one of the major environmental issues in Iran today, has had devastating effects on human health. For several years now, during the cold season, wolves and leopards have been entering residential areas in some regions of Gilan province, especially near the city of Rudbar. This topic is part of a program called 'One House, One Land' that you can listen to in full in the audio file. The air pollution crisis in Tehran and other major cities such as Isfahan, Mashhad, Tabriz, Karaj, Shiraz, and Ahvaz has been ongoing for several years. Each year, a reason is given for the severity of this pollution, ranging from temperature inversions in the cold season to the quality of petrochemical gasoline, the influx of dust from other countries, incomplete combustion of fuel in vehicles, industrial activities, and dust storms, as explained by Masoumeh Ebtekar, head of the Environmental Protection Organization, in a live news interview on Iranian television. However, officials now emphasize that air pollution in major cities, including the capital, is entirely related to urban factors. Faulty technical inspections and excessive use of personal vehicles are among the main reasons that officials from relevant organizations constantly warn about. According to the Citizen newspaper, affiliated with the Iranian Red Crescent, there has been an increase in hospital admissions for respiratory patients compared to last month. Although the Deputy Minister of Health stated that the number of admissions due to air pollution has not significantly increased compared to the same period last year, reports from clinics and treatment centers indicate a rise in visits due to respiratory illnesses. Dr. Nouraldin Pir-Moazen, a lung and chest surgeon in the U.S., speaks about the dangers of air pollution that threaten people's lives and increase the rate of lung cancer in the country. Emergency services in polluted cities are on standby during emergencies, schools are closed, and warnings about halting physical activities and going outside are issued on days when the air is suffocating. According to Mehrdad Lahouti, Vice President of the Environmental Fraction in Parliament, 3,000 people die annually in Tehran due to air pollution. Recently, the air quality in Tehran reached a state where the Transportation and Traffic Department of Tehran Municipality announced that breathing in Tehran's air is unhealthy for all groups, meaning for 9 million Tehran citizens. Yet, it seems that the relevant authorities have not provided a satisfactory answer as to why no serious action or plan has been proposed or implemented to address this environmental issue. The entry of wild animals into some residential areas in northern Iran may not seem so unusual anymore, as wolves, foxes, and leopards have been spotted near some roads close to their habitats. However, the presence of these animals in residential areas and cities can be abnormal. Although the director of the Hunting and Fishing Office of the Environmental Protection Organization told ILNA that for several years now, during the cold season, wolves and leopards have been entering residential areas in some regions of Gilan province, especially near Rudbar. In some cases, these animals, often in search of food, are killed. This occurs at a time when drought and water scarcity threaten not only human life but also wildlife. Some environmental experts say that the continuous destruction of pastures in the country causes irreparable damage to the habitats of these animals. With the growing population, destruction of villages, and the continuous expansion of cities, the destruction of forests becomes more serious, and we are encroaching more into the habitats of wildlife. Iman Memarian, a veterinarian at the Environmental Protection Organization, who cares for endangered species in Pardisan Park under this organization, states that herders are not to blame in this situation. Ali Timouri, the director of the Hunting and Fishing Office of the Environmental Protection Organization, stated that in the past ten years, part of the deaths of wolves and leopards in the country has been due to the actions of herders, who have killed wild animals to protect their livestock, and this trend has increasingly threatened wildlife year after year. According to this wildlife veterinarian, one of the problems that can lead to the entry of wild animals into residential areas is the method of livestock farming in Iran. Although the Environmental Protection Organization claims that a management plan for leopard conservation has been developed, and this year, after signing a memorandum of understanding with private insurance companies, damages caused by leopard attacks on livestock, farmland, etc., will be compensated by these companies in the absence of sufficient resources in the organization. Nevertheless, local and indigenous people remain concerned about the damages caused to their property by wolves or leopards—wild and sometimes hungry animals that suddenly appear in human habitats during the cold winter.