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I just returned from a business trip to Cairo, Egypt, where I was lucky enough to visit some of the region's most historic sites: the Pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx, the Red Pyramid in Dahshur, the City of the Dead and various mosques.
The other four days were spent walking to and from the conference I attended and exploring the Bab al-Louq neighborhood where I stayed. Two things stood out more than anything else on this trip: the air and the noise.
Within 24 hours, I developed a gritty, scratchy feeling in my nose and throat, the latter of which felt like a lump that sat there until I was well into my near 12-hour return flight home. I have traveled quite a bit in my life, but I have never experienced the air pollution that I did in Cairo. Not in Mexico City or Los Angeles, two regions also known for bad air quality.
It was quite unbearable. And for good reason. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Cairo is the second-most polluted large city in the world, behind only New Delhi and similar to Tehran, Iran, and L.A.
The WHO has set an acceptable limit of "fine particulates" at an annual mean of 10 PM2.5. PM2.5 is the measure of particulates. The 2.5 refers to the size of them, as in less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers. For reference, a human hair is 100 micrometers. The smaller the particulate, the worse they are since they can get deeper into our lungs and cause much more damage.
Cairo comes in at over 70 PM2.5. More than seven times the WHO acceptable limit. You can tell pretty easily from both above the city and once you are in it.
The causes of the air pollution are varied. Dangerously high levels of lead, carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide are due to decades of unregulated vehicle emissions, industrial plants and trash burning. Each autumn, farmers burn rice straws which causes an additional black cloud to descend upon the city. A look at all of the buildings downtown reveals gorgeous architecture draped in layers of grey and black soot.
But Cairo is not alone. According to the same WHO report, 91% of the world's population lives in places where the air quality exceeds the 10 PM2.5 limits. In all, 4.2 million deaths every year are the result of exposure to outdoor air pollution.
As for the noise in Cairo, it's horrendous as well. A constant, ear-drum busting collection of car horns from the seven million vehicles occupying the slow-moving roads. It's all you hear even when inside buildings.
Downtown Cairo noise levels reach an average of 90 decibels (dB) and never drop below 70. A normal conversation is 60 dB, which actually translates to half as quiet as 70 dB. Your average lawn mower roars at 90 dB -- four times as loud as 70 dB -- so imagine that level of noise all day long. Every day.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the maximum exposure time for unprotected ears at 90 dB is eight hours. For every increase of five decibels, the maximum exposure time is cut in half. Remember, 90 dB is the AVERAGE in Cairo.
According to Dr. Mohammed El-Shazly, an ear specialist at Cairo University:
"[T]he noise in Cairo is exceptional — it cannot be compared to any other Arab city. What is special about Cairo is that industrial zones and residential areas are not separated. People like policemen who are permanently on the street can be severely affected."
A report by the World Hearing Index found that Cairo is the world's second-noisiest city (Guangzhou, China, is first). That's quite a one-two punch for its residents.
Of course, hearing loss is just one of the potential effects of all the noise. Per The Guardian:
The World Health Organization has described noise pollution as an underestimated threat that can cause hearing loss, cardiovascular problems, cognitive impairment, stress and depression. Some experts go further: they believe exposure to environmental noise could be slowly killing us ...
While the impact of noise on mental health has not been studied extensively, research has shown that “strong noise annoyance is associated with a twofold higher prevalence of depression and anxiety in the general population.”
There are many things individuals can do to take aim at both air and noise pollution, but these are at crisis levels in Cairo and it is imperative that the city and country governments step up.
There's actually already a law on the books in Cairo covering noise pollution. It's been in place since 1994 and it requires that noise levels not exceed 52 dB during the day and 37 dB at night. The law has been ignored. It needs to be enforced. And soon.
As for the air pollution, Egypt has a plan in place to increase its usage of renewable energy sources: the government's Integrated Sustainable Energy Strategy (ISES 2035).
An October 2018 report (PDF file) from the International Renewable Energy Agency pushes the country to be even more aggressive.
Egypt could realistically, and cost-effectively, supply 53% of its electricity mix from renewables by 2030, double the share to be expected from current plans and policies. With renewable power, heat and fuels all factored in, renewables could provide 22% of Egypt’s total final energy supply in 2030, up from just 5% overall in 2014 ... Egypt could reduce its energy bill by up to $900 million annually.
Hope is not lost for improving air and noise quality -- and health conditions by extension -- but the country needs to start today. And move quickly. Its residents can't afford to wait much longer.
(Downtown Cairo photo by Charlie Grosso.)