‘Finally we became the first’
after a long struggle with the forces of corruption and neglect, and a struggle with underdevelopment and routine, kuwait has finally taken the first place as the most polluted countries/cities in the world.
pollution has finally reached 191 degrees compared to 55 degrees for example in bandung, indonesia. so we have become victorious in terms of pollution over lahore, pakistan (188 degrees), delhi in india (168 degrees), jakarta, indonesia (166 degrees), dubai, calicut, kabul and guangzhou in china and hong kong.
the environmental situation is actually serious, and respiratory diseases are on the rise. many bodies, including prestigious diplomatic missions, continue to warn their citizens of the danger of leaving the house except for the necessary things and urged them to exercise at home.
the environment public authority’s disregard for the serious environmental situation and the total absence of the supreme council for the environment are of concern.
cancer contaminants in the atmosphere need to be addressed, not ignored.
according to the municipal council member maha al-baghli, the total area of all landfills in the country amounts to 15 million square meters. if we assume that the average price per square meter is slightly more than 500 dinars, this means that there are 8 billion dinars lost inland difficult to be benefited from or be used in the future without expensive treatment and difficult rehabilitation, the longer the time, the higher the cost of rehabilitation will be.
kuwait currently needs three or four new landfills, all of which affect air and groundwater. the air is filled with microscopic particles of pm 2.5 that are 30 times smaller than the diameter of the hair of the head. when the rates rise, they form fog in the atmosphere, enter the human respiratory system and penetrate into the lungs, causing many chronic diseases as long as they are exposed. it is also a cause of lung cancer.
according to the environmental monitoring information system of kuwait (emisk) of the environment public authority, the percentage of pollution in kuwait’s atmosphere is not large, but it is in green color, adding that the concentration of pm10 particles in the area of saad al-abdullah, for example, at ten o’clock this morning – the moment of writing this article – to the level of 31, a good level, while the concentration of ozone o3, to 67, while the concentration of nitrogen dioxide no2 to 23, all were in green color which shows good air quality for kuwait.
however, airvisual international confirmed that the air quality index in kuwait city (aqi) and air pollution pm 2.5 reached 187, which is unhealthy. the site recommended not to open windows, advised to wear masks and not cycling at this time, noting the need for people with respiratory diseases to use respiratory air spray to protect themselves from congestion in their respiratory system.
for its part, the kuwaiti green line environmental group on its twitter account warned and pointed out that kuwait leads the world in the high rates of air pollution, and that the pollution has reached category 4 (unhealthy) for all members of society.
we desperately need to hear the voice and opinion of the highest environmental authority, the supreme council, and its silence on the situation is a crime against all of us.
