BBC reports that millions are at danger in the Middle East due to toxic gas

 BBC reports that millions are at danger in the Middle East due to toxic gas

According to a BBC investigation, millions more people are at danger from toxic chemicals emitted during gas flaring than previously believed.

Flaring, or the burning of surplus gas produced during oil drilling, is a widespread practice throughout the Gulf, particularly in the United Arab Emirates, home of COP28.

According to recent studies, pollution is extending hundreds of kilometers and degrading the region's air quality.

This occurs on Thursday, when the UAE will play host to the UN's COP28 climate meeting.

Although flaring was outlawed in the United Arab Emirates 20 years ago, images suggest that it is being practiced there in spite of the possible health risks to both its citizens and those of its neighbors.

According to a BBC Arabic analysis, the gasses are now extending hundreds of kilometers over the area.

As part of the investigation, pollution from wells in Kuwait, Iran, and Iraq was also examined. Every nation that was engaged either did not reply or refused to speak.

BP and Shell, two oil corporations that oversee the locations where the flaring accidents took place, said that they were attempting to curtail the behavior.

Leaked papers, as reported by BBC News on Monday, showed how the UAE intended to take advantage of its hosting of the UN climate conference to close oil and gas agreements.

The BBC's results are quite concerning, according to David R. Boyd, Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment for the United Nations. Millions of people's human rights are being violated by large oil firms and Middle Eastern nations that are not taking action against air pollution. fossil fuel.

"Big Oil and the petrostates are continuing business as usual with impunity and zero accountability while massive human suffering."

'Cancer is prevalent' in oil fields

What is a gas flare and why is it a concern?

panting

How the millions of people's health in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Iran, and Iraq is at jeopardy due to the oil corporations' covert, poisonous air pollution that is spreading across hundreds of kilometers.

The program will also air on BBC World News on Saturday, December 9 at 09:30 GMT, and is now accessible to view on BBC iPlayer (UK only).

iPlayer for BBC

Even though flaring may be prevented and the gas can be caught and utilized to heat houses or produce energy, it nevertheless happens all over the globe.

Such eruptions generate pollutants such as PM2.5, ozone, NO2, and benzo(a)pyrene (BAP), which may cause asthma, cancer, stroke, and heart disease when exposed to high concentrations or over time, according to experts worldwide. World Health Organization (WHO).

One of the main causes of the greenhouse gasses CO2 and methane that warm the earth is also global warming.

The president of this year's COP28 climate meeting, Sultan al-Jaber, leads Adnoc, the national oil firm of the United Arab Emirates, which made a 20-year commitment to stop "routine flaring." However, the BBC's analysis of satellite photos reveals that it occurs often in offshore locations. One of the main suppliers of oil to the UK market is the United Arab Emirates.