Nahrawan is Classified as an Environmental Danger Zone.. More than 100 Pollutants are Poisoning Baghdad’s Air

The capital, Baghdad, is facing an escalating pollution crisis that is choking its atmosphere and poisoning its air with a persistent sulfuric odor—signaling the depth of the disaster. The city suffers from more than 100 pollutants within its limits due to the spread of polluting industries, waste facilities, and a complete absence of proper urban and industrial planning. While brick factories are considered the largest contributors to pollution—accounting for 55% of all pollution sources in the capital—the Nahrawan area (southeast of the capital) is classified as an environmental danger zone.

The map below shows the geographical distribution of major pollution sources across Baghdad, including brick factories, power plants, waste transfer stations, and landfills. It contains data points on more than 100 pollutants situated inside the city.

Unfortunately, the map shows that the pollutants are spread across all parts of Baghdad, leaving no area unaffected. This is mainly due to a lack of proper urban and industrial zoning, with polluting industries and waste facilities scattered haphazardly throughout the city.

Adding to this issue is the absence of centralized environmental monitoring systems or official databases. As a result, this dataset had to be manually collected by searching maps and identifying pollution sources. The hope is that this dataset plays an important step toward identifying and documenting the city’s pollution sources.

The collected pollutants categories were identified based on a joint announcement by the Ministry of Environment and the Parliamentary Committee on Health and Environment, which highlighted that Iraqi crude oil contains a high sulfur content, releasing toxic gases when burned. According to the press conference, Baghdad's main sources of air pollution include the Doura Refinery, power plants, asphalt, brick factories, and waste-burning sites.

Baghdad's air pollution sources are diverse, with brick factories standing out as the largest contributors, accounting for 55% of the city's total pollution sources, as shown in the chart.

Brick factories dominate as the leading source of air pollution in Baghdad, accounting for 55% of the total emissions. The majority of these factories operate without proper licensing or adherence to safety standards. Nahrawan, an industrial zone east of Baghdad, is home to 216 licensed brick factories and numerous unlicensed facilities.

These facilities rely on outdated technologies, burning crude oil and petroleum derivatives, which release harmful pollutants like nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), and carbon oxides (COx). Field inspections by the Federal Board of Supreme Audit reveal hazardous levels of metallic and carcinogenic airborne particles in and around Nahrawan, classifying it as an environmental danger zone.

Baghdad’s 68 waste transfer stations and landfill sites, making up 4.56% of pollution sources, are another major concern. Poorly managed waste facilities release methane—a greenhouse gas 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide—and other harmful gases. Informal waste stations, scattered across the city, worsen air quality and spread diseases in nearby neighborhoods.

Thermal and gas power plants, such as the Doura Power Plant and the Quds Gas Power Plant, contribute significantly to Baghdad's air pollution, although their share is smaller at 0.87%. These facilities, classified as 'Category A polluters,' fail to meet Iraq's environmental regulations, with many lacking pollution-monitoring systems. Their emissions, however, are concentrated and highly impactful on local air quality.