Air Pollution in the West Bank and Gaza Strip#
Average Annual Air Pollution has fallen in 2024 compared to 2023 by 8.2%.
Tulkarm saw the highest drop in annual average air pollution in 2024 compared to 2023. Followed by Salfit, Qalqiya, Nablus and Jenin. As of November 2024, Ramallah (142), Hebron (129) and Nablus (128) governorates have the highest number of obstacles to movement.(UNOCHA 2024). Of these three governorates, Nablus saw higher reduction in air pollution annually.
In January 2024, Hebron’s Old City was closed (PCHR). In the same month, the air pollution dropped significantly compared to January of 2023 by more than 20%.
Air Pollution Levels fell in the entire region in 2024. There is an uptick in pollution post COVID-19 in 2021 (similar to a global trend), which quickly fell.
Absolute values of NO2 vertical column density in 2024 were lesser than in 2023. However, there is an uptick in pollution in December 2024
Looking at percentage change in NO2 compared to previous years, allows us to see that January 2024 saw a significant drop in pollution. This decline is also seen in December 2023 and October 2023. Although December 2024 shows a significant reduction in pollution compared to December 2023, this could be because 2023 December had particularly lower levels of pollution. From the above images, it can be seen that in December 2024 some governorates saw higher air pollution than December 2022 (Bethlehem, Jenin,Salfit, Tulkarm ) while others saw an increase (Jenin, Jericho,Jerusalem,Nablus,Ramallah, Tubas )
