The scourge caused by ozone pollutants has hit news headlines in Iran in recent days.
Cities in the Khuzestan and Isfahan provinces, Arak, Qom, and the capital Tehran have been the hardest hit during the past few days, with education centers and offices in some of them closed down.
Ozone pollution is created in countries with intense sunlight and heavy traffic, which has adverse health effects and causes chest pain, coughing, throat irritation, and lung congestion.
But that is not the end of the story, as for the past several years, the air pollution index in major metropolises across Iran has been touching dangerously high levels with thick layers of smog enveloping the cities during the winter as well due to a phenomenon called ‘inversion’.
The government has been blamed for failing to find a solution for the issue that been plaguing the country for years.