Tehran issues pollution health alert as air quality reaches critical levels

Iran’s Health Ministry issued an urgent health advisory on December 7 as Tehran’s air pollution reached near-critical levels, with more than 90 percent of the capital’s monitoring stations recording unsafe readings.

Abbas Shahsoni, head of the ministry’s Air Quality and Climate Change department, warned that air quality indexes have exceeded 150 in most areas, signalling conditions “unhealthy for all groups.”

The southern districts 19 and 20 are approaching “very unhealthy” threshold levels.

“Given the meteorological forecasts predicting stagnant air conditions until Monday and increasing concentrations of PM2.5 pollutants, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences has declared an emergency situation,” Shahsoni said in a statement.

The deteriorating air quality poses significant risks of cardiovascular and respiratory complications, particularly among vulnerable populations.

Health officials have advised elderly residents, children, pregnant women, and individuals with underlying heart or respiratory conditions to remain indoors and wear appropriate protective masks if outdoor activity is unavoidable.

The ministry has requested an emergency committee meeting to implement temporary restrictions across the metropolitan area.

These measures aim to prevent further deterioration of air quality, which typically worsens during winter months when temperature inversions trap pollutants over the city of 9 million people.

The current pollution spike has prompted concerns about increased hospital admissions for respiratory and cardiac emergencies, with health authorities warning of potential “premature deaths among cardiac patients and the elderly, and significant respiratory symptoms across the general population.”