Air pollution in Afghanistan

(Comparison of the two Populated Cities of Afghanistan, Kabul and Herat)

Abstract

Air pollution is one of the prominent aspects of climate change that nowadays, has become one of the most important distresses of all people and scientists. Implicitly, this issue has almost become a crisis in Kabul and Herat. A crisis the consequences of which indicate many and perhaps irreparable problems. Small toxic particles in Afghanistan’s atmosphere are almost seven times more than the international standard. Air pollution has been a more gigantic killer than the war in Afghanistan; therefore, in this research, effort has been made to identify the consequences of this problem and also to identify its determining causes, to present a suitable solution for its control. In order to find out the best results, research has been done with the faazy approach and comparative method. Data were gathered from two groups of knowledgeable people and students, and analyzed via FsQCA software. Eventually, the findings of the research showed that air pollution has had many impacts on the citizens of Afghanistan. Among the consequences, heart diseases, respiratory diseases, cancers, diabetes, skin diseases, high temperature, plant pests and becoming the biggest killer of children, the polluting factors of both cities are similar to a large extent, except for one element. That is, the presence of garbage or waste plays a role in the polluting composition of Kabul city. Other contributing factors are: high consumption of coal, lack of a practical environmental protection management system, the presence of old cars and the use of waste for fuel.