Now, Tehran chokes on smog, shuts schools

Iran is to close schools for two days in Tehran, an official said on Saturday , following air pollution three times the acceptable level that has blanketed the city in smog. Air quality in Iran's capital was the worst in at least nine months this week, media said, and airborne particles from car emissions were at "seven times the standard level". All schools will be closed on Sunday in Tehran and in the... towns of Shahr-Rey and Islam-Shahr (both south of the capital)," said environment official Mohammad Hadi Heydarzadeh. "If the pollution continues, schools will also be closed on Monday ," he said on state television. The warning came as the second "red alert" of the month went into effect in Beijing on Saturday , forcing many cars off the roads and restricting factory production after eye-watering, throat-irritating smog enveloped the Chinsese capital.

Traffic will be limited in the city centre and some factories will be closed. The official IRNA news agency said that schools will also shut in Alborz, west of Tehran.Authorities have asked state employers to grant mothers time off to look after child ren who will be unable to go to school and urged the elderly , children and sick people to avoid going outdoors. Emergency services have also been mobilised.

The air quality index on Monday in tehran showed an average reading of 162 -a "red status" warning that the air is unhealthy for everyone, according to WHO standards. On Saturday , it had dropped slightly to 148, still well above the normal healthy level of between zero and 50.