Environment Minister Khaled Fahmy has announced that smog in several areas of the country on Sunday was a result of high humidity and an absence of wind, rather than smoke from fires.
He based his statement on a report prepared by ministry assistants.
The lack of wind and the presence of humidity results in local pollutants, such as exhaust fumes from vehicles, contributing to the creation of smog. Fahmy stressed that satellite surveys had found no prominent fires or hotspots that could be blamed for the situation.
Smog over the past several years has largely been blamed on farmers who burn the chaff from their rice crops, an activity that became illegal in a 2009 law and carries with it a maximum penalty of one year in prison or a LE5,000-LE100,000 fine.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
