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Nearly 59,000 people in Iran died last year due to exposure to dangerous air pollution levels, according to new estimates from the country’s Ministry of Health. The figures were presented by Alireza Raeisi, a deputy health minister, at a time when several provinces are experiencing what officials have described as “emergency” pollution conditions.
Speaking on November 10, 2025, Raeisi said the deaths were associated with exposure to fine particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns, one of the most harmful forms of airborne pollution.
“Based on the estimates, in 1403 around 58,975 deaths in the country were attributable to exposure to particles smaller than 2.5 microns,” he said. The figure amounts to 161 deaths per day, or roughly seven every hour, according to the ministry’s assessment.
The ministry also estimated the economic loss connected to these pollution-related deaths at $17.2 billion over the past year. Raeisi said this loss equates to around $47 million per day.
#Iran News:
30,000 Deaths from #AirPollution in 2023, Officials Admit Government Failurehttps://t.co/TDyxf2vc2M— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) October 13, 2024
Public health exposure is widespread. According to the ministry, 100% of Iran’s urban population is exposed to particulate concentrations above World Health Organization guidelines, and 96% are experiencing levels higher than domestic standards.
The situation has been especially severe in Khuzestan, where local officials described conditions as “critical” and announced that most schools will operate online through the end of the week. In Tehran, officials responded by restricting daily traffic permits and pausing some industrial activities, steps critics say are temporary measures that do not address the underlying causes of pollution. Similar red-level alerts have been reported in Isfahan, Alborz, and other major urban and industrial regions.
Every breath matters. #Iran's #AirPollution crisis is endangering lives and harming our environment. 2/https://t.co/3tHxNjULWp
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) June 5, 2023
For more than two decades, air pollution in Iran’s major cities has been driven by a combination of aging vehicle fleets, low-quality fuel, expansion of oil and petrochemical industries, and rapid urban growth, alongside recurring dust storms intensified by drought and land degradation across the region. Although the Clean Air Act was passed in 2017, its key measures — including vehicle emission controls, industrial regulation, and standards for fuel quality — have not been consistently enforced.
Environmental analysts say the clerical dictatorship has failed to implement a coordinated national strategy, while overlapping agencies often shift responsibility to one another. Officials frequently attribute pollution spikes to weather patterns or regional dust, but long-term structural solutions — such as modernizing fuel production, reducing reliance on old vehicles, or relocating heavy industry away from cities — have not materialized.
The resulting chronic smog continues to shape daily life, particularly for children, the elderly, and people with respiratory or heart conditions, who face the greatest health risks from prolonged exposure.