The impact of the green belt in obstruction air pollutants in the holy city of Karbala

Abstract

The research was conducted in the Southern Green Belt Project within the center district of the holy city of Karbala to evaluate its environmental impact and efficiency in reducing air pollutants emitted from the industrial area adjacent to the study area. The pollution attenuation factor (Af ) was used to measure the effects of the green belt on impeding air pollutants. Measurements were taken every season from winter 2023 to Autumn 2024. The results showed that the best impedance of the green belt is when the wind speed increases in the Spring, as 7 out of 12 pollutants were impeded, and its efficiency decreased as the wind speed decreased. In general, The green belt demonstrated weak performance in impeding pollutants, As no significant differences were observed in pollutant concentrations due to the small width of the green belt, poor distribution of trees, and failure to follow scientific standards when selecting trees and planting sites. The study recommended increasing the width of the belt to 1000 meters and planting trees suitable for absorbing and blocking pollutants, and planting them in a way that helps curb air currents passing through the green belt.The research proposes to evaluate the efficiency of the Southern Green Belt Project implemented in Karbala Governorate and its role in obstructing some air pollutants and its effectiveness in improving the environmental reality of the center district.