الرئاسة العامة للأرصاد و حماية البيئة

Air Pollution

Introduction

Environmental action in Saudi Arabia encounters numerous challenges that made it imperative to apply traditional and non-traditional techniques to bridge the gap between the quality of life Saudi citizens aspire to and that which they really get as a result of ongoing pressures affecting their environment. Harmful emissions into the air represent an environmental pressure that reflects negatively on man's health and productivity; thus leading to a real loss in the national economy.
The multiple sources of air pollution and the heavy load of pollutants are but a normal consequence of accelerated economic growth Saudi Arabia witnessed over the past three decades. Higher rates of air pollution are becoming strongly correlated with economic progress. Therefore, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has paid special attention to monitoring and reducing such emissions through concerted efforts under taken at both national and international levels alike.

Sources of Pollution

Saudi Arabia's climate is an important factor in increasing the pressure of air pollution, Saudi Arabia is located in a dry area where precipitation rarely occurs and surface winds are inactive almost all the year round.
Land topography also reflects on air pollution. Desert accounts most of the area of Saudi Arabia, thus leading to a high concentration of dust in the air as wind blows onto inhabited areas from the neighboring desert lands. Air pollution increases with the growing socio-economic development.
Vehicles are the major source of air pollution. Almost two thirds of carbon monoxide and 50% of hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides that pollute the air are attributed to fuel combustion, also industrial zones and widespread small industries within the populous mass.

Harmful Effects of Air Pollution

The scientific studies revealed the relationship between air pollution waves and rates of hospitalization as a result of those diseases, The studies concluded that there exists a positive relationship between increased pollution with suspended particles and sulpher dioxide2, on the one hand, and the high rate of mortality from cardiac and respiratory diseases, on the other. A weighted relationship was also found between smoke pollution rates and mortality resulting from lung cancer, Heart and respiratory disease incidence rates were proven to have been related to both causal agents (suspended particles and smoke). The same was true for acidic oxides and lung diseases.