The spokesman of Iran’s Emergency Services Organization said December 23 that in the past 24 hours 2,426 people visited hospital emergency rooms. These were people with heart and respiratory diseases who are most vulnerable to air pollution.
The spokesman Mojtaba Khaledi told the government news website IRNA that emergency cases were the highest in Tehran Province, with 1,209 people seeking help.
Other provinces affected were Isfahan, Alborz, Central, Qazvin, Qom provinces in central and north-central regions of the country, and Western and Eastern Azerbaijan provinces in the northwest.
A government office monitoring air quality published its latest data that showed the Air Quality Index in Tehran deteriorated from 109 degrees on Friday to 147 on Monday and during certain hours it reached to as high as 174.
A number under 50 is considered healthy air, but between 100-150 is already dangerous for vulnerable groups. Anything above 150 is considered unhealthy for all humans.
According to published data, Tehran had only 25 healthy days since March.
Last week, the mayor of the capital city said pollution surpassed 200 and if a rain had not improved air quality the government would have been forced to take action, including evacuation.
SEE ALSO: Rain Saved Tehran From Evacuation, Tehran Mayor Says