The air quality index in Tehran has deteriorated to “unhealthy” and “alarming” levels, according to both outside experts and the Iranian government, which advised city residents to remain indoors last week.
“Elderly people and children, along with cardiovascular and respiratory patients, should remain in their homes as much as possible,” Tehran Air Quality Control said in its latest advisory.
Government agencies and businesses in the national capital were asked to reduce staffing and allow employees to work from home, while schools across the city were closed.
Restrictions have been placed on trucks and automobiles within Tehran to reduce emissions. This had the unusual side effect of filling the streets with women riding on motorbikes, because it was impossible for men to drive them around in cars, as normally required by Iran’s repressive Islamist cultural regulations.
Women wearing face masks to protect themselves from air pollution wait for transport in Tehran on November 29, 2025. (ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty)
A deputy for Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian admitted that “air pollution will kill if it becomes any more than this.”
The director of emergency services for Tehran said on Monday that least 357 people died from causes related to air pollution over the past eight days. The director said his agency fielded thousands of emergency calls from people who found it difficult to cope with the toxic atmosphere.
On Sunday, Tehran reported one of the worst air quality levels in the world, surpassing even the notoriously unhealthy Indian capital of New Delhi. Several other Iranian cities have reported “orange” air quality alerts, meaning their atmosphere is considered unhealthy for children, the elderly, and people with respiratory conditions.
Tehran is also suffering from a severe water crisis, which could lead to partial evacuation of the city. Some of the same weather patterns contributing to the drought conditions are also causing pollutants to accumulate over the city, although in both cases poor management by public officials has been blamed for making Tehran unlivable.
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