Lockdown causes 30pc drop in Kabul air pollution

KABUL (Pajhwok): Air pollution dropped by 30 percent in central capital Kabul following the coronavirus lockdown measures, a senior environmental official said on Tuesday.

Director for Research and Oversight Eng Mohammad Khan told Pajhwok that air pollution decreased in major Afghanistan cities following coronavirus related restrictions that curtailed the movement of people and the production levels of factories.

During an exclusive interview, Khan said all industrial activities, factories, brick kilns, shops, air and land transport, private and public companies were shut down, leading to huge drop in air pollution in Herat, Kabul, Jalalabad and other urban areas.

He added they monitored the air condition in Kabul every day and they recorded a 30 percent drop in air pollution as compared to its level during the past 10 years.

Hadi Achakzai, an advisor to the Environmental Protection Agency, said that although quarantine measures affected all daily activities, but benefited the environment.

“The lockdown measures have good effect on air pollution; we can see the air has changed. If we compare the current weather in Kabul to that two years ago, it is clear, the air is much clear, now people enjoy clean air,” he said.

Salahuddin Kabir, an environmentalist, said though no weather detectors exited in Afghanistan, yet Kabul’s weather showed the lockdown had a major impact.

“We are breathing a clean air in Kabul because all human activities have ceased and this has a direct impact on the environment.”

According to him, other countries have accurate data on environmental sanitation but the Afghan government does not have it.

“It is clear to everyone that nothing has been done in the field of environment. It is quarantine that has helped the environment.”

bk/ma

Views: 16