Editing Cairo (section)

==Pollution==
[[File:NilPollution.jpg|thumb|Smog in Cairo]]
[[File:Cairo Traffic.jpg|thumb|Traffic in Cairo]]

The [[air pollution]] in Cairo is a matter of serious concern. Greater Cairo's volatile [[aromatic hydrocarbon]] levels are higher than many other similar cities.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Khoder |first=M.I. |title=Ambient levels of volatile organic compounds in the atmosphere of Greater Cairo |journal=Atmospheric Environment |volume=41 |issue=3 |pages=554–66 |date=January 2007 |doi=10.1016/j.atmosenv.2006.08.051 |issn=1352-2310 |bibcode=2007AtmEn..41..554K}}<!-- |access-date=1 January 2007 --></ref> Air quality measurements in Cairo have also been recording dangerous levels of [[lead]], [[carbon dioxide]], [[sulfur dioxide|sulphur dioxide]], and [[suspended solids|suspended particulate matter]] concentrations due to decades of unregulated [[vehicle emissions control|vehicle emissions]], urban industrial operations, and chaff and trash burning. There are over 4,500,000 cars on the streets of Cairo, 60% of which are over 10 years old, and therefore lack modern emission cutting features. Cairo has a very poor dispersion factor because of its lack of rain and its layout of tall buildings and narrow streets, which create a bowl effect.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://blog.theecoexperts.co.uk/most-polluted-cities |title=The Most Polluted Cities in the World |publisher=The Eco Experts |first=Fran |last=Whittaker-Wood |date=25 July 2018 |access-date=2 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701230800/https://blog.theecoexperts.co.uk/most-polluted-cities |archive-date=1 July 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In recent years, a black cloud (as Egyptians refer to it) of [[smog]]  has appeared over Cairo every autumn due to [[Inversion (meteorology)|temperature inversion]]. Smog causes serious respiratory diseases and eye irritations for the city's citizens. Tourists who are not familiar with such high levels of pollution must take extra care.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Black cloud reappears over Cairo |journal=Middle East Online |volume=41 |issue=3 |page=554 |doi=10.1016/j.atmosenv.2006.08.051 |author=Khoder, M |year=2007 |bibcode=2007AtmEn..41..554K}}</ref>

Cairo also has many unregistered lead and [[copper]] [[smelter]]s which heavily pollute the city. The results of this has been a permanent haze over the city with [[particulate matter]] in the air reaching over three times normal levels. It is estimated that 10,000 to 25,000 people a year in Cairo die due to air pollution-related diseases. Lead has been shown to cause harm to the [[central nervous system]] and neurotoxicity particularly in children.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Lead neurotoxicity in children: basic mechanisms and clinical correlates |journal=Brain |volume=126 |issue=1 |pages=5–19 |date=January 2003 |doi=10.1093/brain/awg014 |author=Lidsky, T. I. |pmid=12477693 |last2=Schneider |first2=JS |doi-access=free}}</ref> In 1995, the first environmental acts were introduced and the situation has seen some improvement with 36 air monitoring stations and [[Emissions testing|emissions tests]] on cars. Twenty thousand buses have also been commissioned to the city to improve congestion levels, which are very high.<ref>[https://earthdata.nasa.gov/learn/sensing-our-planet/a-black-cloud-over-cairo A black cloud over Cairo] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016182202/https://earthdata.nasa.gov/learn/sensing-our-planet/a-black-cloud-over-cairo |date=16 October 2020 }} NASA</ref>

The city also suffers from a high level of land pollution. Cairo produces 10,000 tons of waste material each day, 4,000 tons of which are not [[Waste collection|collected]] or [[Waste management|managed]]. This is a huge health hazard, and the Egyptian Government is looking for ways to combat this. The Cairo Cleaning and Beautification Agency was founded to collect and recycle the waste; they work with the [[Zabbaleen]] community that has been collecting and recycling Cairo's waste since the turn of the 20th century and live in an area known locally as [[Manshiyat naser]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/06/03/MNGKOJ82991.DTL |title=From Cairo's trash, a model of recycling / Old door-to-door method boasts 85% reuse rate |publisher=Sfgate.com |date=3 June 2006 |access-date=5 May 2009 |first=Jack |last=Epstein |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010222736/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2006%2F06%2F03%2FMNGKOJ82991.DTL |archive-date=10 October 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> Both are working together to pick up as much waste as possible within the city limits, though it remains a pressing problem.