Smog forces schools shut in Iran

Air pollution forced schools to close in parts of Iran including Tehran yesterday, state media reported, as the capital lay under a thick cloud of smog.

The pollution level in the capital was “unhealthy for sensitive groups” and officials warned the young, elderly and people with respiratory illnesses to stay indoors, with sporting activities suspended.

The decision to shut schools in the capital was announced late Saturday by deputy governor Mohammad Taghizadeh, after a meeting of an emergency committee on air pollution.

“All of (Tehran) province’s schools except for Firuzkuh and Damavand counties are closed for Sunday,” he said, quoted by state news agency IRNA.