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Cairo, Egypt is a well known city in the northwestern part of Africa. It is most know for being right next to the ancient Great Pyramids. The population exceeds over 19 million people, and as the center of Egyptian life, is one of the worst polluted cities in the Middle East. On a rare clear night, one can look from the desert and see the large, black cloud of smoke that hangs permanently over the city and its nearly 20 million residents.
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The city of Cairo has a permanent smog over the city. The air pollution in Egypt comes at a cost of 2,400 early deaths, 1,500 cases of acute bronchitis, and over 329,000 cases of respiratory infection. Factories in the area are responsible for more than half of the city's pollution, and trash burning makes up another 15%. Pollution is also causes by the growing population and traffic, with cars that release carbon monoxide and other harmful particles, along with dust and nitrogen oxides. Agriculture, industry, and land traffic are most harmful. Cairo has a very poor dispersion factor of the particles in the air because of lack of rain and its layout of tall buildings and narrow streets, which create a bowl effect, which causes the pollutants to stay in the city.
The water scarcity in Egypt has become a problem. The Nile, which is more than 3/4 of the population of Cairo's primary source of water, is facing extreme pollution. Water of the Nile is being polluted by daily and industrial waste, leakage of waste water, dead animal carcasses, and the release of chemical and hazardous industrial waste into the river. Many people who use this water as drinking water are risking putting harmful chemicals into their body that causes disease and even cancer. Fish die in large numbers from poisoning because of the high levels of ammonia and lead in the water, and the fish are a main food to many inhabitants of the city.
WHY?
Cairo has a very poor air quality because of lack of rain and its layout of tall buildings and narrow streets, which create bad ventilation and consequent trapping of pollutants. The risk of developing serious respiratory diseases and cancer from inhaling dust & soot, hydrocarbons, and heavy metal compounds is high, with every 2 in 100 people at risk. The air in Egypt is becoming so polluted that buildings in the city are becoming grey from all the particulates in the air. Imagine what the lungs of people who breathe in those harmful chemicals look like!
Planting tall, sturdy trees in residential areas can act as an efficient wind and sand breaker and could help prevent the particles blown in from arid areas surrounding the city contribute to the particle and dust pollution.