Scientists in Abu Dhabi say stricter air quality controls, transitioning to renewable energy and monitoring vehicle emissions are behind a reduction in the levels of air pollution in parts of the Middle East.
A study from Khalifa University (KU) in Abu Dhabi, using Nasa satellites, looking between 2003 and 2023, showed significant reductions after pollution levels increased during the first decade of the reporting period.
The research looked at the concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulphur dioxide (SO2), both generated by burning fossil fuels.
One of the study’s authors, Dr Diana Francis, assistant professor at KU and head of the university’s environmental and geophysical sciences lab, said that in the UAE “tighter air quality regulations and vehicle emission standards” from the mid-2010s have improved air quality. Other measures have also helped to lower pollution levels.
“Additionally, there has been increased investment in renewables and natural gas, reduced reliance on heavy fuel oil, lowering SO2 emissions, particularly in Iran, and the cleaner energy transitions still ongoing,” she said.
Cost of progress
The researchers reported a measurement area that included Qatar, Bahrain, and Dammam in Saudi Arabia recoded pollution levels increasing up to 2018, before they declined by 1.7 per cent per year. Dr Francis said until the mid-2010s, rapid development and increased vehicle use had raised NO2 levels, particularly in growing cities such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
“To accompany the economic development, emissions from industry also increased, such as power plants, oil refineries and manufacturing in the region, which may have contributed heavily to both NO2 and SO2 emissions,” Dr Francis added.
“Additionally, before [the mid to late 2010s], emissions controls and monitoring systems were less strict or inconsistently enforced due to limited environmental regulations at the time.”
However, from around the mid to late 2010s, the satellite data indicates significant declines in SO2 or NO2 in some places, including western Saudi Arabia, parts of Iran, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, which underscored “the importance of stringent air pollution controls”.
In another measurement area that included Dubai, Abu Dhabi and parts of the Gulf of Oman, there was an average 3.9 per cent annual reduction in NO2 levels after 2015. SO2 levels here, though, continued to increase, albeit only by a modest 0.31 per cent annually.
The study used data from Nasa’s Aura satellite to analyse levels of NO2 and SO2, allowing, the researchers said, for a more comprehensive analysis of pollution levels than land-based recordings, as measuring stations are present only in some locations.
The Aura satellite, which was launched in 2004 and orbits the world 14 times a day at an altitude of 705km, has an instrument that measures how much solar radiation is backscattered or reflected by components in the air.
The International Council on Clean Transportation announced in 2023 that the introduction of EU regulation level vehicle emission standards in the UAE had significantly reduced the release of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter from light-duty vehicles in the emirate.
This finding was based on a project carried out in spring 2023 with the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi and other organisations.
Last year, The National reported how countries in the Middle East had the world’s highest levels of dangerous air pollution particles, which are causing millions of heart disease deaths globally each year, according to a study from the World Heart Foundation (WHF).
Tightening rules
While the UAE still trails EU nations in the implementation of vehicle emissions standards – the bloc applied a standard to new vehicles in 2006 – rules are being toughened. In a phased implementation from next January until July 2027, the EU’s stricter Euro 6B vehicle emissions standard will be applied to light and heavy-duty vehicles imported into the UAE.
Dr Francis said cutting levels of SO2 and NO2 was “vital” because these pollutants irritate the lungs and worsen asthma and other respiratory conditions.
“These gases particularly affect vulnerable groups like children, the elderly and people with lung conditions,” she said. “Long-term exposure can lead to chronic respiratory issues and reduced lung function. Therefore, controlling these pollutants improves air quality and protects public health.”
Asher Minns, executive director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia in the UK, said to reduce levels of SO2 and NO2, it was necessary to stop burning fossil fuels, whether to generate electricity, refine oil or power vehicles.
He said transition to renewable energy was likely to have had a relatively modest impact on the region’s levels of pollution. “Not extracting and burning fossils fuels means less NO2 and SO2,” he added.
While there has been heavy investment in renewable power generation in the region, the study noted overall power demand was increasing in the Gulf by about 6 per cent annually.
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Cilic: Final (2017*)
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Company name: Marefa Digital
Based: Dubai Multi Commodities Centre
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Funding stage: Pre-seed funding of Dh1.5m in 2017 and an initial seed round of Dh2m in 2019
Investors: Friends and family
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Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed (c), Babar Azam (vc), Abid Ali, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Hasnain, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances