Based on what was published on social media on 06/10/2024, that there is a dangerous rise in air pollution levels in the Ali Sabah Al-Salem suburb (Umm Al-Hayman) and in the Fahaheel area, where the publication stated that there is a record high of carcinogenic pollutants (PM2.5), The Environment Public Authority would like to confirm that what was stated in that circular is incorrect, as the Environment Public Authority works to monitor air pollutants around the clock in all residential areas in Kuwait, including Ali Sabah Al-Salem and  Al-Fahaheel stations to monitor air quality, and the Public Authority’s employees work to monitor the levels of Air pollutants concentration in all monitoring stations of the Environment Public Authority and announced to the public in full transparency and hourly on the “Our Environment www.beatona.net” website of the Environment Public Authority, with warnings published for certain categories of the public (those who suffer from allergies and asthma) in case of a high concentration of An air pollutant below the national standard allowed in the State of Kuwait.

Generally, the increase in readings of dust and fine particulate (PM2.5) measuring devices at the air quality monitoring stations of the Environment Public Authority coincides with warnings from the Meteorological Department regarding the presence of winds exceeding 32 kilometers per hour (which is enough speed to carry dust particles)from the soft desert lands in Kuwait and the surrounding countries), and in fact, the Meteorological Department has warned that on June 10, 2024, there will be activity in strong winds with a speed of more than 50 km/hour causing dust, which led to bad weather conditions and dust blowing in several areas in Kuwait, which led to an increase in the concentrations of dust and fine particles measured in air quality monitoring stations.

The concentration of fine particles (PM10 and PM2.5) in the air of the State of Kuwait is expected to rise when strong winds carrying dust blow from exposed soil in Kuwait and also during dust storms coming from the countries of the region (Iraq, Syria, and Saudi Arabia). However, these high concentrations of these fine particles come from natural dust and dirt that occurs in Kuwait and the Arabian Gulf region. Note that the Environment Public Authority confirms that the concentrations of all gaseous pollutants measured at Ali Sabah Al-Salem (Umm Al-Hayman) and Al-Fahaheel stations on 10/06/2024 were below national standards for sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ground-level ozone, and carbon monoxide.

The Environment Public Authority also confirms that when there is an increase in the concentration of fine particles (PM10 and PM2.5) for a certain hour of the day as a result of strong winds stirring up desert dust, the Environment Public Authority publishes this on its website and works to warn people, but this does not mean that there is a high record in carcinogenic pollutants, as it was published and circulated on social media. Therefore, the Environment Public Authority calls on everyone to be careful in the sources of informations and not to publish incorrect information about the state of air quality in Kuwait, in compliance with Article No. (126) of the Environmental Protection Law No. (42) of 2014 and its amendments.