In Beijing the air pollution is so bad that you sometimes can’t see your hand in front of your face. Above the charts bad, cities of the world are now coming to terms with their own local air pollution.
Sharjah, a coastal city in the United Arab Emirates has air pollution reaching dangerous peaks like Mexico City, Beijing and Tokyo, researchers now find.
Among the pollution in the air is ethane, propane, benzene, butane and toluene. Benzene, a known carcinogen was found to range from 0.34 parts per billion to 3.2 ppb. Compare this to the averages in other polluted cities: for Mexico city it is 0.6ppb, for Beijing it is 2ppb and for Tokyo it is 4ppb.
The survey of Sharjah air pollution was done at the American University of Sharjah. Like we always say, it is usually the west that brings attention to the environmental woes our planet faces –– especially in the Middle East where awareness and concern is low.
The study looked at what compounds form smog. It is usually caused by combustion engines (read cars) when the exhaust reacts with other compounds in the atmosphere.
At first smog can agitate asthma and bronchitis. After longer exposure expect increased rates of cancer, decreased reproductivity and birth defects.
Sharjah readings are complicated because on some days Sharjah air is quite clean. But on others the level of pollution skyrockets to levels seen in the worst cities.
One of the scientists thinks that a majority of the pollution may be produced abroad and then is carried by wind to the city. The pollution may be coming from the petrochemical industries in Iran, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
But Sharjah has other local problems to contend with, like indoor mould and fungus (read here).
Readings of air pollution, meanwhile, will carry on into the summer.
Man at the sea at Sharjah, from Shuttertsock