Submitting an annual report on the air pollution-related fatalities in Iran, Abbas Shahsavani, the head of the health ministry’s Air Quality and Climate Change Research Center, said based on the studies fine particulate matters with 2.5 microns or less in diameter, technically known as PM2.5, caused 13.9% of natural deaths in the country last year.

Shahsavani added, “The average concentration of suspended particles in our country is 7.6 times higher than the guidelines by the World Health Organization (WHO) and over 3 times higher than the national standard of our country.”

He also said Iran is ranked 21st among 131 countries in the world in terms of air quality.For the past several years, the air pollution index in major metropolises across Iran has been touching dangerously high levels with thick layers of smog enveloping the cities during the winter due to a phenomenon called ‘inversion’.