Kabul Chokes On Dust And Smoke

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KABUL, Afghanistan, June 7, 2004 (ENS) - Nine year old Spozhmai has been lying in a hospital bed for six days, struggling to breathe. So far this year, she has suffered 13 asthma attacks. The doctors say she also has bronchitis. Her father Akhter Mohammad blames air pollution in the Afghan capital for her illnesses. The city's air is thick with dust and fumes produced by the cars, motorbikes and trucks that choke the streets. And to make things worse, Akhter's family lives beside a bakery which burns plastics and other rubbish to fuel the ovens.

Now, the government of President Hamed Karzai is starting to take action. It has invited a team of international scientists to carry out a study to measure the level of air pollution across the country. It will take more than a year before the survey is completed. Officials hope the information will help demonstrate the effects of air pollution.

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The only data currently available comes from a landmark 2002 UN report, which used just a few indicators to provide snapshot data on the levels of air pollution in the cities of Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif, Kandahar and Herat. Zaidi said the main causes of pollution are the number and poor condition of vehicles in the country, and the quality of the fuel they burn, which often includes high levels of sulphur and lead. Dust caused by many factors including extensive deforestation is another cause of pollution as is the burning of toxic materials such as tires and plastic.

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Mohammed Hanif Malgarai remembers when the capital was filled with parks, such as the Chehelsotoon, Babur and Bagh-e-Bala gardens. The 53 year old man remembers how the road from the city center heading toward the province of Logar was lined with trees. "There were thousands of trees on both sides of the boulevard from Deh Mazang up to Darul Aman," he said. "It looked like a natural tunnel and when you drove along the street all you could see were trees." That started to change in the 1980s after the Soviet invasion. "After the Russians captured Afghanistan the trees were cut down because of security concerns," he said."

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http://www.climateark.org/articles/reader.asp?linkid=32363