Egypt: Pollution Levels in Cairo Less Severe than Last Autumn

By Larry Habegger | Permalink | No Comments | October 16th, 2008 | Trackback

Every October-November the “Black Cloud” hovers over Cairo, a poisonous combination of vehicle and industrial emissions, smoke from burning rice hay and incinerated trash. This year pollution is less severe because farmers are burning less hay, which accounts for up to 40 percent of the pollution. Authorities are trying to discourage hay burning by tying fertilizer subsidies to it (burn hay, lose subsidies), and are encouraging people to switch to cars running on natural gas or to use public transit. Health officials blame the black cloud for increased disease, as bronchial asthma patients double at this time of year.

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