Through this report , I am replying to Ambassador Fayshal's request about sharing the air pollution/quality status of our countries.

The UAE's air quality is relatively good – it does not suffer from the infamous smog that blankets major cities such as Mexico City, Tehran or Beijing.

As on 2011 , UAE was at 8th position of top 10 countries with dirtiest air.

As on 2014 , UAE showed improvement in it's ambient air quality .Air pollution at 55.95 (UAE 34th country out of 59) and Air Quality at 44.05 (26th out of 59).

While the overall air quality in Dubai is better than in many developed countries,but the issue will probably need more attention as the country grows. We have great cities here, which are growing and every time there is growth in human activity, there is an increase in pollution.

Busier roads, expanding airports, new construction, aspirations to host global events and the growth of tourism as part of the national economy make air quality an ever more important issue. And we cannot just blame desert conditions: in Abu Dhabi, 30 to 40 per cent of particulate pollutants come from human activities.

There are national guidelines and most pollutants are within these standards but some pollutants are above the standards  as per  research director of the Abu Dhabi branch of the Norwegian Institute for Air Research.

Particulate matter (PM) – tiny particles of sand, dust or chemicals – is one pollutant that registers elevated levels.Nitrogen oxide, usually released in the combustion of fossil fuels, and ground-level ozone, or smog, which is formed when some chemicals released from human activities react with substances already in the atmosphere in the presence of sunlight, are two other substances that show elevated concentrations .

PM and ground-level ozone, especially in the summer, were the two pollutants most commonly registering high concentrations in Dubai.

Another important point is that the UAE experiences dust storms, usually in February-March and June-August. Strong winds pick up momentum and sweep dust from the desert, spreading it across the region. The results are more than just irritating -both a safety and a health hazard.

Air-quality problems are severe around quarries and cement plants, particularly in Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah(Northern states/emirates of UAE). Since 2008, regulation of quarries has steadily been tightened.

A large part of urban pollution comes from a few offenders. Badly maintained lorries and buses cough out dark fumes. The chimney of a prominent Dubai hotel frequently belches dirty smoke.

Portable diesel generators are common on building sites. Noisy, dirty and expensive to run, they could be replaced with hybrid systems that combine solar panels with diesel or battery back-up.

In the built-up areas of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, road traffic is one of the biggest polluters. Strong summer sunlight acts on vapour from fuels and fumes from exhausts to produce ozone, which irritates eyes and causes asthma and bronchitis.

Ozone-forming or particle-forming substances are emitted locally by the transport, mineral excavation and hydrocarbon industries.

Measuring the problem is crucial to tackling it, especially in alerting residents with existing health problems that air pollution may exacerbate. Local authorities have taken steps to measure pollution levels with Abu Dhabi and Dubai providing real-time information, publicly available online, on the concentration of common pollutants, with measurements taken regularly at stations throughout the two cities.

In the capital, the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (Ead) has been doing detailed monitoring of particulate matter pollution, looking at levels of particles, known as PM10, which are only 10 micrometres in size.They are also monitoring levels of the even smaller PM2.5 particles, which are especially harmful as they are able to penetrate in the lungs when inhaled. In general , particles smaller than the width of a human hair can penetrate deeply into the lungs.

Abu Dhabi is operating and maintaining the 20 stations in the Abu Dhabi Air Quality Monitoring Station Network, closely checking levels of sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, particulate matter, hydrogen sulphide and methane. In the past five years, they have only rarely recorded levels that are above the  recommended limits.

Biodegradable, environmentally-friendly chemicals can help to keep down dust while consuming less water.

And it may be transport where an integrated strategy is most needed: tighter enforcement on the worst vehicles, cleaner engines and more public transport.

Cleaner-burning compressed natural gas is introduced as a fuel for taxis, trucks and buses. Removing fuel subsidies would discourage idling engines unnecessarily, cut congestion and reward more efficient vehicles – hence reducing pollution automatically.

One possibility is to sharply increase registration fees on more polluting vehicles, and use the revenues to offer rebates on low-emission vehicles.

Clean air is essential to maintaining the delicate balance of life on this planet not just for humans, but also for wildlife, vegetation, water and soil.

Sources:The National ,EAD