TEHRAN — Launching of the nationally integrated vehicle inspection system is an effective measure employed to mitigate air pollution particularly in metropolises, chief of the Department of Environment Masoumeh Ebtekar has said.

Nationally integrated vehicle inspection system is a procedure mandated by the government in May 2016 in which a vehicle is inspected at certain intervals to ensure that it conforms to regulations governing safety and emissions.

The vehicle inspection system is a sound strategy for mitigating air pollution and its measurable impacts will be realized gradually in the near future, Mehr news agency quoted Ebtekar as saying on Saturday.

Mentioning the clean air bill which is yet to be adopted by the Majlis (Iranian parliament) Ebtekar highlighted that the bill is clearly mandating the reduction of five-year interval for vehicle inspection to two years.

She further stated that schemes to fight air pollution have various dimensions and are long-term, adding that implementing all the laws adopted by the government to deal with choking smog such as scrapping clunkers, renovating and providing public transportation can successfully fulfil such schemes.

Temperature inversion has been considered as major problem Tehran and some other metropolises of Iran are struggling with specifically in autumn and winter.

An inversion can lead to pollution, usually resulted from the emission generated by cars particularly high-emission clunkers, being trapped close to the ground, with possible adverse effects on health.

MQ/MG