Clean the air

Kabul is smothered in smog, and the authorities do little to check pollution which is killing people.

“The smog is so dense you cannot see beyond 100 metres,” says Seeros, a Kabul resident. Omar blames it on the unchecked burning of plastic and other household waste by people.

Kabul is smothered in smog, and the authorities do little to check pollution which is killing people.

“The smog is so dense you cannot see beyond 100 metres,” says Seeros, a Kabul resident. Omar blames it on the unchecked burning of plastic and other household waste by people. “People do not realise how poisonous it is for their health,” he says.

The issue of pollution raised temperatures in Parliament. Fawzia Kofi, lawmaker from Badakhshan, accused the government of “incompetency”. “They are involved in deteriorating the climate, environment and health of people in Kabul. People are killed by terrorists but the incompetency of government authorities is worse. They don’t have a justification like lack of budget in this case. They simply do not work.”

Nazir Ahmad Hanafi, Member of Parliament from Herat, warned of the dangerous implications of pollution on people’s health.

Noor Mohammad Zamani, chief of the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA), said people have the right to clean air. The air over Kabul is a combination of dangerous gases, dirt and fog, he said.

According to Zamani, pollution kills some 3,000 people every year here. “It is the cause of serious respiratory diseases and cancer,” he says.  Health professionals say the worst affected are infants and young children.

Due to lack of reliable power and the high price of gas for heating, people use coal-based stoves to keep warm. NEPA says coal, a fossil fuel, is a primary cause of air pollution. Coal-fired stoves, made in Turkey, are widely used. Zamani says, “People use the Turkish stoves as well as wood fires. I wish these Turkish stoves had not come to the country.” Coal is more polluting than wood.

The popularity of the imported stoves has affected local stove production. Tin smiths or halabi sazi in the 3rd District say that though the price of locally-fabricated wood-burning stoves has fallen sharply, sales have decreased by more than 50 percent. Rajab Ali, a tinsmith says, “Despite our stoves being cheaper and not damaging for the environment, people still prefer Turkish-made stoves.”

Ali, a tinsmith in Kota Sangi thinks the stoves are popular with people “for their shape and colour but they do not realise the price paid by the environment.”

The cost of the imported coal-fired stove is between 12,000 (210 USD) and 40,000 Afs (600 USD).

Mohammad Husain Nataq is a wood seller in the 6th District. He says he’s selling less fuelwood than before.

NEPA officials say that unless the government can provide alternative heating fuel, coal consumption will only increase. Zamani urges the government to frame guidelines for pollution control.

Kazem Humayoon, chief of NEPA’s planning department, points to the climate change consequences of increasing coal use. He explains that smoke hangs over Kabul because the city is in a bowl ringed by high mountains. “The smoke is not disseminated, and it hangs, layer upon layer, over the city,” he says. The sun is unable to pierce through the layers of smog and consequently the winter has become harsher.

Indoor pollution

There is no escaping toxic air even inside buildings and homes. Environmentalist Giasudin Safi believes that the air is more toxic inside homes because of poor ventilation. In the winter, people can spend roughly 10 to 12 hours indoors.

Dr Mohammad Aref Hasanzai of the Child Health Hospital, Kabul, says people are not aware of the toxic impact of coal on human health. The smoke remains in personal effects and is a hazard for the lungs of infants. Respiratory illnesses like asthma increase by 70 percent in winter months, he says.