Over the past few decades, air pollution has become a global problem. Air pollution causes dangerous health problems such as asthma and malaria.  Life in an air-polluted city like Kabul is both challenging and dangerous. It is challenging because one has to constantly deal with a variety of diseases caused by air pollution. It is dangerous due to the lack of quality health services. In recent years air pollution has been constantly increasing in Kabul because of the dirt roads, car fume, and open sewage systems.

The first major cause of air pollution in Kabul is the dirt roads. Cars blow the road dust in the air and create a dusty environment. Even though some roads are asphalted in Kabul, they are not in a good condition. Most asphalted roads are built by nongovernmental organizations that use substandard and low quality asphalt for the construction of roads. Such low quality roads that do not last long add to the increase in pollution.

Car fume, produced by low quality gas, is another significant cause of air pollution in Kabul. It is clear that the more cars enter Kabul city the more polluted it becomes. In the past few years the number of cars has substantially increased in Kabul, which in return has contributed to air pollution. Additionally the usage of low quality fuel has also played an important role in polluting the city. Since quality fuel costs a lot to the poor residents of Kabul, most drivers use low quality fuel that leads to excessive air pollution.

The final cause of air pollution in Kabul is the open sewage system. Because of the three decades of war in Afghanistan, this country has remained backwards from so many aspects. Even after the war, Afghanistan has not been reconstructed well and it lacks proper canalization system. Rainwater and waste water accumulates everywhere in the city. From these waters bacteria and microbes spread in the air that results in further pollution.

The reasons that lead Kabul to one of the polluted cities are the dirt roads, car fume, and the open sewage system. These factors hugely affect Kabul’s atmosphere. I suggest that the municipality of Kabul city asphalt the dirt roads, have a good supervision on the construction of roads by NGOs, put a limit on the number of cars in Kabul, make sure all vehicles use high quality fuel, and build world standard canalization system in the city. These measures can, to a certain degree, reduce the pollution in Kabul.