Iraqi Prime Minister forms emergency committee to tackle air pollution in Baghdad

Shafaq News/ Iraqi Prime Minister Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani issued directives on Saturday to form a specialized ministerial committee to address the issue of air pollution in Baghdad.

the Prime Minister's media office announced that Al-Sudani has directed the formation of a specialized committee. This committee will be led by the advisor to the Ministry of Environment and will include the advisor to the Ministry of Oil, representatives from the Ministry of Electricity, the technical agent of Baghdad Municipality, and the Director General of the Department of Environmental Protection and Improvement for the Central Region. The committee's mandate is to investigate the pollution situation and the persistent sulfur odor affecting Baghdad and neighboring governorates, identify its causes, and implement appropriate solutions.

Al-Sudani stressed that radical solutions to the issue must be developed and the matter must be studied from all sides. He instructed that the committee submit its report on the matter within two days.

On Friday, Baghdad was once again enveloped by smog and a pungent smell of sulfur and, as residents complained about the spread of thick smoke that has covered the city for days.

The smog also spread to areas north of Baghdad, reaching as far as Diyala governorate and the borders of the Kurdistan Region, with the source remaining unidentified. This has led citizens to call for urgent solutions to prevent serious health issues arising from the pollution.

Green Iraq Observatory, which specializes in environmental affairs, attributed the reasons for the frequent spread of the smell of sulfur Baghdad to the use of high-sulfur oil in power plants, and warned that Baghdad's air, especially in recent days, has become loaded with dangerous substances that threaten the health of children and the elderly, noting that Baghdad records for the first time an air pollutionrateof515%.