TEHRAN — Carbureted motorcycles account for more than 19 percent of pollutants in the capital, head of the national center for air quality and climate change affiliated with the Department of Environment, said on Tuesday.

There are around 2 million motorcycles in Tehran and the carbureted ones are causing a great deal of pollution relatively speaking, Tasnim quoted Masoud Zandi as saying. 

While only 30 days are reported as polluted or mildly polluted on average over the first 8 months of the year (starting on March 21), over the last four months of the year (falling on the last month of autumn and winter) the air quality index indicate high level of pollution as the number of the polluted days jump threefold or more in some years, Zandi regretted. 

Although as per a law approved by the cabinet carbureted motorcycles are not being domestically produced since last September still they account for high amounts of pollutants, he stated.

There are around 2 million motorcycles in Tehran and the carburetor ones are causing a great deal of pollution relatively speaking

Moreover, Zandi said, while the sole purpose of adopting the aforesaid law was shifting to electric motorcycles, “lack of necessary infrastructure is what is holding us back.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, Zandi said that some 9 percent of the passenger cars in Tehran are clunkers and highly pollutant which also play a significant role in intensifying air pollution.

“Another challenge we are facing are clunker buses and diesel engine heavy vehicles that are highly responsible for the discharging hazardous pollutant,” he added.

Once it comes to air pollution many believe that vehicles are causing 80% of the air pollution that we breathe. In order to eliminate this major sources of air pollution the government has come up with various plans. 

Scrapping some 500,000 clunkers annually, importing and manufacturing high standard vehicles and switching to greener alternatives in general are of the plans which are being partially implemented or are hoped to be fully implemented in the country. 

MQ/MG