the Traffic is limited, sports activities to be suspended and schools closed in Tehran, where smoggen is heavy.

air Pollution has forced schools to shut in Iran's capital, Tehran, on Sunday.

It informs Tehran's deputy governor.

Smoggen is located in a thick blanket over the city, and the government encourages the children, the elderly and people with respiratory diseases to stay indoors.

Schools are also closed on Monday, adds the lieutenant governor, Mohammad Taghizadeh, at the state iranian television.

Also, sporting activities are halted due to the poor air quality.

the Authorities have introduced regulations for vehicle traffic in an attempt to reduce pollution. Cars with even number plates allowed to drive some days, while cars with odd number plates allowed to drive on other days.

Traffic is completely forbidden in Tehran province.

Worked in the gravel pits, which is located in the region, is also set, communicate to the lieutenant governor.

Measurements of the air in Tehran show that the finest and most harmful particles - particles less than 2.5 micrometers - is 145 micrograms per cubic metre of air.

It is almost six times as high as the maximum limit of 25 micrograms, the world health Organization WHO recommends.

Several residents in Tehran accuses the authorities of being to blame for the high level of air pollution, because they do not have extended public transport and has allowed for much construction at the expense of green areas.

- as long As the officials are sitting in cars with tinted windows, detective the not that the air is contaminated. But when they sit in a car like mine, they find out that the air is polluted and that something must be done, says the taxi driver, Mohammad.

/ritzau/AFP