Air quality in Salwa

Is Salwa a polluted city to live in?

Salwa is located in Hawalli Governorate within Kuwait City, one of six different governorates within the country, bordering other residential areas such as Bayan, Messila and the Persian Gulf to the east. Salwa has had some poor readings of air quality recorded in recent years, and continues to come in with elevated levels of both PM2.5 and US AQI.

Both are measures of air quality, with PM2.5 being one of the most harmful types of pollutants that one can find in the air, with the reasons as to why being discussed in short. The US AQI measure itself is an aggregate number formed from the calculation of several main pollutants, namely nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), Ozone (O₃) and the two main types of hazardous particles, PM2.5 and PM10, with the first of the two being of greater risk to human health due to is ultrafine size, as well as the number of dangerous materials it can be comprised of.

Looking at the levels of US AQI on record as taken at the end of May in 2021, it can be seen that Salwa came in with a US AQI reading of 79, putting it into the ‘moderate’ air pollution ratings bracket. To achieve such a rating, a US AQI number must come in anywhere between 51 to 100 to be classified as such, and for ease of navigation when using air quality maps or graphs, the associated color is yellow. As per the guidelines set out by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), any reading between 0 to 150 is deemed as acceptable. However, when the reading comes in on the higher end of this scale, many health problems start to make themselves apparent, particularly amongst the vulnerable groups of the population.

For other US AQI color and ratings, a reading of anywhere between 0 to 50 is classified as ‘good’ (and color coded green), and then on the higher end, 101 to 150 is classified as ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’ (color coded as orange). Any reading above this starts to move into unhealthy territory, with the whole population being at risk for having aggravated symptoms or various ailments start to appear.

Looking at some other readings of US AQI that were collected over the course of 2021, it can be seen that Salwa came in with readings such as 36 and 45 (good rated, however they were the exception rather than the general average, with many days coming in as either moderately polluted or above). Other readings include 90 and 94, on the higher end of the moderate ratings bracket, and 156 and 162 in late March, indicating an ‘unhealthy’ level of air quality.

The atmosphere at this time would be considerably more permeated with clouds of hazardous particulate matter (with finely ground sand particles also being a natural form of pollution that inevitably occurs in both cities and countries in this region of the world), as well as smoke, haze, smog and other noxious air contaminants.

On days such as the above mentioned unhealthy readings, individuals should take greater care in order to safeguard against elevated levels of pollution. This can take the form of preventative measures such as wearing fine particle filtering masks (as available on the website), as well as keeping up with hourly pollution updates or forecasts via air quality maps as available on this page or via the AirVisual app.

What are the main types of pollution found in the air in Salwa?

Whilst some of the above mentioned pollutants that go into forming the overall US AQI level have already been touched on, there would be a number of other pollutants found in the air over much of Salwa as well as the rest of Kuwait. Their levels can of course vary due to factors such as industrial area or factory density, as well as the items they are manufacturing and the level of stringent rules in place regarding how much pollution they are allowed to emit.

Looking at some other major pollutants, they would be ones such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and black carbon (the main component in soot). Both of these are formed from the incomplete combustion of organic material and fossil fuels, as some examples of VOCs would be chemicals such as styrene, methylene chloride, tetrachloroethylene and formaldehyde.

Other fine particles in the PM2.5 bracket (extra dangerous as mentioned before due to them being 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter, hence able to cross into the bloodstream via the lungs) would be ones such as finely ground silica dust, along with gravel, non-silica mineral dust, along with larger particles of sand or earth that can cause a number of respiratory problems when inhaled.

At what time of the year does air pollution go higher in Salwa?

Observing the air quality levels as collected over the course of 2020, it can be seen that Salwa had its highest period of pollution in the months of September through to December, all of which came in above 35.5 μg/m³ and hence sitting in the ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’ bracket, as per the PM2.5 level rating (35.5 to 55.4 μg/m³ required for classification).

Their readings were 41.4 μg/m³, 42 μg/m³, 37.2 μg/m³ and 40.9 μg/m³ respectively, making October the most polluted month of the year with its reading of 42 μg/m³.

Does the air quality in Salwa see any improvements during the year?

On the opposite end of the spectrum, it can be seen that the months of April through to August (with the exception of July which had a sudden elevation in its PM2.5 count) came in with the best air quality levels. Their readings were 23.6 μg/m³, 20.1 μg/m³, 22.4 μg/m³ and 24 μg/m³ for August. This made May the cleanest month of the year with its reading of 20.1 μg/m³ and the time of the year in which the air would be at its freest from clouds of haze, noxious fumes and particulate matter.

What health risks are associated with breathing polluted air in Salwa?

Health risks that present themselves during bouts of higher pollution would be ones such as dry coughs and associated chest pain, along with a number of infections of the respiratory tract that can take place. Whilst these will typically cease when exposure is halted, other more serious issues may arise when exposure is prolonged or excessive in amount.

These include illnesses that full under the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) bracket, which include ones such as pneumonia, bronchitis and emphysema. Cases of ischemic heart disease along with increased rates of heart attacks, strokes and even death may occur, particularly during periods of high pollution and for vulnerable members of the population.