Severe Air Pollution in Mazar-i-Sharif Sparks Public Health Concerns
The city of Mazar-i-Sharif, a major historic and cultural hub in northern Afghanistan, is currently grappling with severe air pollution. The deteriorating air quality has altered the visual landscape of the city, raising deep concern among residents of the Balkh provincial capital. Locals are calling on Taliban authorities to implement immediate measures to curb pollution sources.
Residents cite the main contributors to the rising pollution levels as unfiltered emissions from public bathhouses, the proximity of manufacturing plants to residential areas, the use of low-quality fuels, and a growing number of smoke-emitting vehicles circulating throughout the city. These factors have directly impacted the quality of breathable air.
Air pollution is not merely an environmental issue but also a social and public health crisis, threatening the well-being of residents. Experts warn that this phenomenon significantly affects quality of life and could trigger a wide range of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases among the population.
Civil society activists and local residents stress that it is the Taliban administration’s responsibility to monitor and enforce environmental regulations to combat this escalating problem. Ignoring the crisis, they warn, could have irreversible consequences for both public health and the environment in Mazar-i-Sharif.
