Black cloud reappears over Cairo

[donsu]

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/egypt/?id=17992


Mysterious black cloud threatens health of polluted Egyptian capital’s 16 million residents.


For the seventh year running, a mysterious black cloud has appeared over Cairo, triggering serious health concerns for the polluted city's 16 million residents.


Emissions of nitrogen dioxide, which cause serious health risks above certain levels, have reached record heights in the city, from the banks of the Nile, past the industrial suburbs of the delta and even in the desert areas.


The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that presence of more than 200 mg of nitrogen dioxide in the air is a great health risk.


But in Egypt, the levels have reached as high as 305 mg in the Cairo district of Qolali and 482 mg in Giza.


Worse still, the levels of the potentially toxic gas have soared to a staggering 700 mg in the northern city of Qaha, in the industrial zone of Qaliubiyah.
-snip-
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wonder how good their health system is? lotta sick people.

[orwell]

1. I love Cairo...

...but the pollution is horrible.

[skids]

2. Eh... that sounds disturbingly biblical. n/t

[Webster Green]

3. The article called the cloud "mysterious"..

...then went on to cite the many sources of the pollution that caused it.

[whistle]

4. Isn't nitrogen dioxide a pollutant from diesel engines?

...Civilization is chocking itself to death!

<snip>
Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2)

What is Nitrogen Dioxide?
NO2 is a reddish-brown gas with a pungent and irritating odour. It transforms in the air to form gaseous nitric acid and toxic organic nitrates. NO2 also plays a major role in atmospheric reactions that produce ground-level ozone, a major component of smog. It is also a precursor to nitrates, which contribute to increased respirable particle levels in the atmosphere.

What are the sources of NO2?
All combustion in air produces oxides of nitrogen (NOx), of which NO2 is a major product. Approximately 63 per cent of NOx comes from the transportation sector in Ontario. A large part of the remaining 37 per cent comes from power generation, primary metal production and incineration. Natural sources of NOx include lightning and the aerobic activity of soil bacteria. These natural sources, however, are small compared to emissions caused by human activity. <More>

http://www.airqualityontario.com/science/pollutants/nitrogen.cfm

[Spinzonner]

5. 11th plague ?

[Scriptor Ignotus]

6. I bet that Pat Robertson and friends

will call this the "wrath of the Christian G-d".

[glitch]

7. We have dead zones in the ocean now - how long before we have dead zones

in the atmosphere?

[Chulanowa]

8. Gah. Reminds me of a book from the '80s...

Anyone ever read it? It's called The Last Gasp, by Trevor Hoyle, published 1983, I believe. It's a work of science Fiction, but as science fiction tends to be, strangely prophetic. Within he details how burgeoning air pollution kills Tokyo and other large cities of the world, how runoff and changing currents kill off teh phytoplankton in the seas, and chemical reactions eat up what little Oxygen is left. In the middle of it all are government agencies - Russian and US (hey, it's the 80's...) - Who are trying to protect themselves - By keeping certain locations survivable, and struggling to kill off most of the rest of the world through use of dioxins and cancerous agents.

There's a lot in the book that's flat-out unbeleivable (every Sci-fi book needs its aliens and bizzare mutants...) but the premise is, frighteningly enough, not terribly far from what we can see today.