Air Quality and Environmental Health in Rasht: A Consultant’s Drunk Rant

so i was sitting in that cramped coffee shop in rasht last week, stirring my lukewarm chai, and i started staring at the ceiling. like, why does the air here smell like a mix between burnt toast and someone’s camping gear left outside for a week? you know how it is-you live somewhere for a year and suddenly the air becomes part of your brain. i checked the local air quality index once, and it was fluctuating between 45 and 70 over the past month. not great, but not the worst either. until it is. like last tuesday, when i walked from my apartment to the bus stop and my eyes itched for 20 minutes. i’m not allergic to anything. but the data? it’s all over the place. some days it’s okay. others… you just hope the next bus doesn’t cough up a cloud of dust.



so here’s the thing about rasht. it’s not a city that’s gonna testosterone-pack you with green spaces. the green mountains? sure, they’re there. i took a scenic drive up last weekend, and they were gorgeous under that sunny sky. but real talk-the neighborhood i’m in? it’s a 10-minute drive from a factory that probably emits more particulate matter than a diesel train. my neighbor just told me over her air fryer (she’s a food safety consultant, ironically) that her asthma got worse after monsoons. ‘rain cleans the air,’ she said, deadpan. i told her, ‘you’re delusional.’ but hey, maybe she’s right? the last storm cleared the air for 12 hours. then the sun came back, and the factory started smoke-belching again. maybe the rains are like, rasht’s way of cleaning up its act? idk. maybe i’m overthinking.



i dug into the cost of living while i was there-rent, groceries, that kind of stuff. turns out, rasht is cheap enough to make a consultant like me question my life choices. i’m paying $350/month for a two-bedroom place nearby the beach. that’s not bad. but the job market? it’s… stale. i applied for a remote role with a tech company in banco, and they ghosted me. classic. if you want work here, you need to either be in construction (which pays well but involves shoveling concrete in 40°C heat) or bargain like a pro at the local market. i bought a used quilt for $12 and a bag of lentils for less than $5. that’s $17 for a meal. but the air? nobody prices that in. you don’t see a sign saying, ‘warning: mango season increases pollution by 30%.’



oh, and the weather. people here complain about it all the time. ‘it’s too hot,’ or ‘it’s too dry.’ i say it’s perfect. the dryness keeps the dust in the air, and the heat? that’s just nature’s way of pushing us inside. i passed a street artist last week painting a mural of a sad tree. he was wearing a gas mask. not a joke. locals say the painters here use masks because the air quality screws with their lungs. i half-believe that. at least he’s visible. most people just wear scarves and pretend it doesn’t affect them. or drink coffee. which leads me to my next point…



rasht’s coffee scene is a microcosm of its environmental issues. i went to this tiny café where the owner brews organic beans. i asked him about the air quality, and he said, ‘it’s fine.’ over his espresso. he looked at me like i asked if the earth was round. but here’s the rub-his beans come from a small farm two hours away. which is great! if he’s sourcing sustainably, that’s a win. but what about the farm itself? do they spray pesticides? does the cranes used on the farms contribute to particulate matter? i don’t know. but my point is, even the coffee geeks here are oblivious to the bigger picture. they’re just here for the beans. or the vibe. or both.



so, data time. let’s talk numbers. according to the iranian environmental agency, rasht’s average pm2.5 level last year was 55 µg/m³. for reference, that’s badder than los angeles but not as bad as beijing during winter. the bad part? it’s not seasonal. not really. winter dips a bit, but summer? it’s like the factory bosses put their emissions on a 24/7 schedule. i checked a tripadvisor review from a couple who stayed here last month. they wrote, ‘we left early because the air made us cough. but the food was good.’ i didn’t write that. i overheard it at a bar last night. someone was giving drunk advice to a tourist. sounded like a warning, but who knows? another review on yelp said, ‘the air here is like a grandma’s breath-terrifying but oddly comforting.’ that’s from a local, i think. or maybe a tourist who couldn’t stand it.



here’s the thing: rasht isn’t a disaster. it’s not like hanoi post-monsoon or mumbai during construction season. but it’s not a tourist paradise either. i tried to find a health department report on water quality, but the website was down. classic. local rumors say the tap water is fine, but the fish in the nearby river? they say it’s poisonous. i didn’t taste it. i’m not that reckless. but a botanist i met at a community garden said, ‘if you plant your own herbs, you’re basically a mad scientist. the soil here is a mystery.’ i didn’t ask her how she knew that. she just nodded and sipped her tea.



yes, i’m generalizing. yes, i’m mixing data with nonsense. but that’s rasht. it’s a city where the air quality isn’t measured in ppm-it’s measured in ‘is this cabdriver smell like sulfur?’ and ‘why is the sky pink at 8 a.m.?’ if you’re a freelance photographer, this is your chance. capture the smog haze over the gulf. if you’re a budget student, bring a gas mask. if you’re a vintage clothes picker, wear layers. layers block the dust. i found a 70s denim jacket for $20 that still smells like patchouli. it’s a style statement. or a health precaution. idk.



so there you have it. rasht’s air quality is a mess, but it’s also a part of the city’s soul. the factories, the dust, the green mountains-it’s all tied together. i’m not saying it’s healthy. i’m saying it’s real. and if you’re here for the low rent and the culture, you might as well breathe it in. just don’t blame me when your lungs sound like a dying accordion. anyway, i’m out. i have to go home and complain to my boss about this city. he thinks i’m overreacting. he’s a co-founder of a wellness app. classic.



[external links]
- tripadvisor reviews on rasht’s pollution
- yelp air quality complaints
- local subreddit complaining about factories
- graph of rasht’s pm2.5 levels

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