Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

PERCEPTION OF AIR POLLUTION IN SAUDI ARABIA

Hatim Matooq Badri and Wahaj A. Khan

Abstract

Air pollution is considered to be a major public health concern and the most important environmental health issue facing humanity today. Due to the importance of air pollution and its well-known negative effects on health, this study aimed to investigate people’s perception towards air pollution in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study design was used with an online questionnaire distributed via social media platforms. The 411 participants who completed the questionnaire had a mean age of 38 ±14 years and came from different cities in Saudi Arabia. In terms of participants general environmental concerns, 64% believed that air pollution is the major environmental issue in Saudi Arabia. Around 35% and 30% of participants perceived air pollution as dust and smoke respectively. Participants believed that natural dust was the major source for air pollution in their city (42 %) followed by transportation (33 %), local industries (20 %) and other sources (6 %). More participants reported feeling air pollution more during the day (46 %), followed by those who felt that it is present during both day and night (27 %), and more during the night (10 %). The majority of participants (67 %) believed weather does have an effect on air pollution and of that majority, most (57 %) believed that air pollution is worse during the summer, some (7 %) believed that it is worse during winter, others (4 %) believed that it is worse in both seasons and a minority (14 %) believed that weather doesn’t have an effect air pollution. The findings provide insight into people’s perception of air pollution in Saudi Arabia. Further research that examines the different factors that affect peoples’ perception is needed.