“Based on a report by … Parliament, some 6,398 people lost their lives in Tehran due to air pollution in the Iranian calendar year 1400 (ending March 2022),” announced the Environment Committee of the Tehran City Council on Sunday.
The comment comes as councilor Soudeh Nadjafi had said earlier that burning Mazut in Tehran was the root cause of air pollution in the metropolis, a claim denied by officials later on.
In the second half of the year during cold season, air pollution levels skyrocket in Tehran and other major cities, like Mashhad, Isfahan, Tabriz and Kermanshah, forcing the closure of schools every now and then.
Many slam the officials over such decisions saying the closure of schools is not a remedy to the deadly air pollution.
The inversion phenomenon, exhaust fumes and smoke from factories on the outskirts all contribute to high smog levels in megacities like Tehran.
