Car exhausts major source of air pollution in Bahrain

Manama : Forty-nine per cent of air pollution in the Kingdom is caused by car exhausts, the latest official environmental statistics have revealed.

The figures unveiled that there’s one vehicle for every 2.7 persons in Bahrain with more than half a million registered cars in the country.

This was revealed by Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Minister Essam Khalaf, who pointed out that around 40,000 vehicles in Bahrain are operating on diesel fuel, one of the major non-friendly fuels to the environment.

“A study conducted in 1997 showed that 1,686,000 tonne of air polluters are caused by car exhausts. Almost 20 years later now, the number of cars has doubled in Bahrain,” the Minister said.

In his reply to parliamentary queries on the main air polluters in Bahrain and specifically in the Southern Governorate, Khalaf confirmed that pollution caused by the transportation sector is the key harmful factor to the environment. He attributed it to the rapid growth of the population and the small size of the country. 

Khalaf also added that factories’ emissions and other natural causes such as sandstorms and natural evaporation of seawater also contribute to the list.

The query was submitted by the Council’s Foreign Affairs, Defence and National Security Committee Head Abdulla Binhowail, who also inquired about the official measures taken to limit air pollution.

In his answer, the Minister said the Supreme Council for Environment (SCE) is currently working on operating a modern system to monitor emission of fumes from factories and electronically link it to the council. “A step forward in environmental inspection,” he commented.

More information about official means to curb air pollution will be discussed openly during the upcoming parliament weekly session on Tuesday.