Kabul’s air pollution a serious health crisis

Worsening air pollution in Afghanistan’s capital is “seriously” threatening the health of the city’s, the United Nations’s IRIN news agency reported on Sunday, citing Afghanistan’s National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA).

Pollution, including unclean air and water, and solid waste are believed to be responsible for over 70 percent of the diseases in Kabul, said Dad Mohammad Baheer, the deputy director of NEPA. “In terms of air pollution we are facing a crisis in Kabul,” he explained, adding: “Over the past few years diagnosed cases of cancer, mainly among children, have increased considerably.”

The pollution has been exacerbated by the destruction of Kabul’s plant life. Over 70 percent of its greenery, particularly trees, has been lost over the past two decades.

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