Population’s perception on air pollution in Beirut

Abstract

© 2019 Universite des Sciences et Technologiques de Lille. All rights reserved. Studies have shown that the air above Beirut, the Lebanese capital, is polluted. The concentration of NO2 and particulate matters are always above the acceptable limits set by the World Health Organization (WHO). In 2016, a survey has been done to study the perception of Beirut’s population on the air pollution. The survey has shown that the population does perceive the bad quality of the air above the city and its primary source: road traffic. On the other hand, the population perceives the risks related to the security situation as more important than the environmental or traffic related risks. The study has also resulted that individuals perceive that air pollution affects others more then it affects them and a disparity between the different religion denominations regarding the perception of the different risks in general and environmental risks in particular, a point which we cannot explain in this stage.