A report by Mario Doueiri, English adaptation by Nadine Sassine
The air we breathe each morning may seem clean, but pollution is all around us—even if we can not see it. According to the World Health Organization, 7 million people die from pollution annually. In some major cities, inhaling polluted air is as harmful as smoking 20 to 25 cigarettes a day.
So what are the causes of this pollution?
It is not just cars and factories that are to blame, agriculture also contributes to pollution. According to a 2023 study by the European Environment Agency, it was found that reducing ammonia emissions from farms—a gas mainly released from animal waste and fertilizers in agriculture—could decrease rural pollution by 10-20%.
Microplastics, which are tiny plastic particles resulting from the breakdown of plastic products like bottles and bags, are another cause of air pollution. Microplastics can become airborne and enter the respiratory systems of humans and animals.
Another cause of air pollution is fires, and here we can talk about two types of fires: natural fires, which ignite randomly or due to human negligence, and the second type, which we often encounter in Lebanon, intentional fires, like burning waste and tires.
When discussing air pollution in Lebanon, we certainly can not forget the pollution caused by power generators.
What might the solutions be?
In previous reports, we discussed the importance of urban planning and modern architectural methods in mitigating global warming in cities.
Still, even simple changes in our daily lives can make a difference, including using public transportation, carpooling to reduce the number of cars on the road and thus emissions, walking or biking for short trips, conserving energy at home by turning off unnecessary lights and appliances, and recycling and sorting waste.
Air pollution is the greatest threat to our health but fighting it has never been impossible.