Air quality in Dezful

Is air pollution a major issue in Dezful?

Dezful is a city located in Khuzestan province in the southwestern region of Iran, one of thirty one different provinces present throughout the country. It is also the capital of Dezful county, having an elevation of 150 meters and being home to some 264,000 people, as per a census conducted in 2016. Dezful, like many cities throughout Iran, is subject to some high levels of pollution, having come in amongst some of the worlds most polluted cities, both in years past and continuing on into more modern times.

Iran has many pollution issues, relating to its waters, ground and air based pollution. Covering the levels of air pollution present, the units of both US AQI and PM2.5 will be referred to throughout the article. US AQI itself is a number aggregated from the volume of several main pollutants present in the air, found both in Dezful as well as worldwide, due to the prevalence of their release from the typical pollution sources such as cars, fires and factory emissions.

These include chemical compounds such as nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and ozone (O₃), with ozone being formed as a result of the various oxides of nitrogen (NOx) being exposed to sunlight, or solar radiation, thus undergoing a chemical reaction and creating ozone.

The other pollutants used in the calculation of the US AQI level are the two forms of particles, namely PM2.5 and PM10, the larger and more coarse variety of particle based pollution. Out of both of these, PM2.5 is significantly more dangerous, being approximately 30% the size of a human hair in width, and with the capacity to go down to sizes many microns smaller (with PM2.5 starting at 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter). Due to this extremely small size, it is considered as the most hazardous pollutant present in the air, and hence is used as a prominent measure of air pollution in its own right, often used to calculate yearly averages.

Regarding the pollution levels present in Dezful, it can be seen that in June of 2021, Dezful presented with a US AQI reading of 90, placing it into the higher end of the 'moderate' pollution ratings bracket, which requires a US AQI reading of anywhere between 51 to 100 to be classified as such. It is color coded as yellow, as per all the air quality maps and graphs present on both this page and throughout the IQAir website, for ease of navigation and reference. This level of air pollution may not present any overtly prominent risks for the general public; however, vulnerable individuals may start to experience some form of respiratory irritation, particularly due to the US AQI reading being on the higher end of the 'moderate' ratings bracket.

Other US AQI readings that were present over the course of both May and June of 2021 were ones such as 113 and 143, readings that would place Dezful into the 'unhealthy for sensitive groups' ratings bracket, which requires a reading of anywhere between 101 to 150 for classification, and is color coded as orange. As per the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), any reading on the US AQI scale between 0 to 150 is deemed as acceptable, with readings over this moving into more dangerous territory. Of note is that on the higher end of these figures (such as the readings mentioned just above), unpleasant health issues may present themselves, both amongst vulnerable individuals as well as the general public, experiencing some form of respiratory or cardiac distress.

A high reading of 153 was taken in late May, placing Dezful into the 'unhealthy’ air quality ratings bracket, (150+ and color coded as red). This indicates that Dezful is indeed a city with some high pollution spells, making preventative measures such as wearing a fine particle filtering mask or avoiding outdoor activity during certain times all the more important. Such readings of said pollution levels can be tracked via the information available on this page, as well as on the air visual app.

Why does Dezful have higher levels of air pollution?

Dezful, along with many other cities in Iran, sees many similar causes of air pollution present. These include ones such as emissions from vehicles, with large amounts of cars, motorbikes and heavy freight vehicles present on the road. With an increasing population size and rapidly increasing vehicle ownership, ambient air pollution from such sources will continue to be a major problem. To compound the situation further, many of these vehicles are extremely aged and have poor quality engines. This can lead to the leaking of noxious oil vapors, along with higher volumes of chemicals and fine particles being released due to the low quality combustion process.

Other sources of pollution include sand, dust and other ultrafine particles blown into the city via strong winds, a common polluting source in such a part of the world. Others include emissions from factories and power plants, along with construction sites, road repairs, and even poorly paved roads adding to both the chemical and fine particle pollution collective.

What health problems can occur from air pollution in Dezful?

Health issues that can occur during bouts of high pollution include irritation to the skin and mucous membranes, with conditions such as atopic dermatitis and psoriasis potentially flaring up. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) would also present itself, with many further conditions such as asthma, bronchitis and emphysema falling under this COPD bracket.

More serious health problems would be ones such as cancer, particularly of the lungs and skin, as well as increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, ischemic heart disease and even death.

When does Dezful experience its worst levels of air pollution?

Looking at the PM2.5 readings on record that were taken over the course of 2020, it can be seen that Dezful had some sporadic bouts of higher pollution readings, lacking a distinct period of time that saw consistently raised PM2.5 levels. Every month of the year came in at a 'moderate' reading or above, with September coming in with a reading of 36.9 μg/m³, placing it into the 'unhealthy for sensitive groups' bracket, the only month of the year to do so.

Has Dezful improved its overall air quality?

In 2020, Dezful came in with a PM2.5 reading of 27.1 μg/m³ as its yearly average, placing it into the 'moderate' ratings bracket and in 13^th place out of all cities ranked in Iran for 2020, as well as 484^th place out of all cities ranked worldwide.

In 2019, the yearly average reading in Dezful was 26 μg/m³, showing that the PM2.5 level had gone up slightly. Dezful, and indeed many other cities throughout Iran will need to take many actions to ensure that their cities do not go up further in their pollution levels, due to the huge toll it can take on both the environment and health of its citizens.