The director of Tehran’s Air Quality Control Company said on Monday that air pollution in the metropolis of Tehran has reached an alarming level.

Yousef Rashidi said that heavy air pollution aggravates respiratory allergies and diseases and heart and lung problems and causes premature death in the people that suffer from heart and lung diseases.

Tehran’s emergency air pollution coordination committee held a meeting on Monday to assess the situation and take the measures necessary to reduce pollution.

The committee decided to close elementary schools and daycare centers on Tuesday and Wednesday due to heavy air pollution.

Later on the day, the choking smog was dissipated by the breeze.

Heavy smog on some days in autumn and winter, due to inversion and the geographical location of Tehran, which is surrounded by mountains, is not a new phenomenon. In fact, it has become a chronic problem over the past few years.

But officials do not address the issue until it reaches a critical point, and even then only take a few emergency measures to temporarily alleviate the problem.

Source: Mehr News Agency; photos by Abolfazl Salmanzadeh