Beirut - Post Report Question and Answers
What is the air quality like at post (good/moderate/bad)? Are there seasonal air quality issues? Does the air quality have an impact on health?
Air quality was an unfortunate surprise. It gets very bad here from time to time and I was completely unaware upon arrival. - Oct 2020
Air quality has some bad days. Officially I believe it's around twice as bad as New York as a reference point. Most of the time it is fine and clear, but there are days where you can barely see the city due to all of the pollution. - May 2019
Google "lebanon air quality" the further up you are from the city the better the air will be, but it's getting worse each year. Even people who live in Broumanna can see the pollution rising up. - Jul 2016
It is good. Once or twice a year there would be lots of sand or dust in the air but after a day or two this would pass. - Feb 2015
Overall--good. In spring, there will be the occasional storms which bring thin particulate sand that works its way into your lungs and your house. Many of the residences are infested with mold that causes respiratory ailments. - Nov 2014
Mostly good, but a few days a year, the smog hangs over the city and the air quality is poor. - Apr 2014
I would say moderate. There aren't a lot of green spaces to take advantage of in the city. - Jan 2014
Beirut should have worse air than it does due to the massive traffic, but the sea breezes and the mountains help make it about as bad as Washington. - Sep 2010
The air quality varies widely based on how recently it has rained and which direction the wind is blowing. Lebanon has poor public transportation and too many cars. In addition, most people rely on generators to provide electricity for a portion of the day due to rolling blackouts. Furthermore, dust will often blow in from the Syrian desert. The result can be a fairly thick cloud of smog over the city or trapped against the mountain chain that frames the coast. A good breeze or rain normally clears the deck at least once a week, though. - Jul 2010
