Toxic air grips Baghdad as pollution lingers for months

Shafaq News– Baghdad

Air quality in Baghdad remains extremely poor and has persisted at dangerous levels for nearly two months, driven by industrial activity, vehicle emissions, and shrinking green spaces in the capital, the Iraq Green Observatory said on Sunday.

In a statement, the observatory said air pollution has continued since a major pollution cloud blanketed the city two months ago, with no meaningful improvement since then.

It attributed the deteriorating air quality to roughly 10,000 industrial activities operating in Baghdad, most notably brick, asphalt, and pharmaceutical factories. Many of these facilities rely on low-grade fuels such as crude oil, releasing highly toxic substances into the air, compounded by outdated technology and weak regulatory oversight.

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There are more than 2.5 million vehicles in the capital, alongside a sharp decline in green areas and vegetation, it added, warning that sustained poor air quality could trigger headaches, nausea, and breathing difficulties, particularly if pollution levels rise further in the coming months.

The Iraqi capital ranked second globally among the world’s most polluted cities, according to data released in September by Switzerland-based air quality monitoring platform IQAir. At the time, Baghdad recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of around 150, a level classified as “unhealthy,” particularly for children, the elderly, and people with respiratory or heart conditions.