Progress, Challenges and Prospects of Urban Air Pollution and Climate in Iran

Abstract

Air pollution has been integrated into global challenges over the last few years due to its negative impact on the health of human beings, increasing socio-economic risks and its contribution to climate change. This paper highlights the general status of air pollution worldwide. It then attempts to systematically evaluate the current status of Iran's air pollution with regard to the sources of emissions, control policies, as well as the health and climate consequences that have resulted through available data from monitoring stations reported in the literature and official documents. The challenges and opportunities are also discussed to provide feedback on the efficacy of control measures and policy-making. Many large cities in Iran surpass the permissible concentration of air pollutants, particularly particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, black carbon and ozone. Although the regulations and policies are in place and enormous efforts are being made to address air pollution issues in the country, implementation and enforcement are not as effective as they could be. The significant challenges may be regarded as the inefficiency of regulation and supervision systems, the lack of air quality monitoring systems and technology, particularly in industrial cities rather than Tehran as well as the lack of continual feedback and investigations on the efficiency of regulation. Providing such a comprehensive and up-to-date report can bring opportunities for international collaboration, which is essential in addressing the air pollution issue worldwide.