Jeddah's environmental map indicates that the south and center of the city are the most noise polluted areas. To a certain extent the city's north which contains the airports also falls into the same category. Dr. Abdulrahman Hamza Kammas, noted environmentalist and a former director of environment protection at the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment, said the south and center of Jeddah witness traffic congestion which causes the increased use of car horns. Constant loud noise, he added, can cause temporary and sometimes permanent deafness, as it affects the nervous system causing tension which can eventually lead to mental breakdown. He noted that noise pollution is largely linked to machines and technology which represent development and advancement so necessary in the modern age. Noise pollution can cause unstable reactions, such as, distraction, lack of ability to concentrate, high blood pressure, excessive secretion of some glands possibly leading to increased sugar in the blood, gastric ulcers, headaches, exhaustion and insomnia. The Industrial Zone which houses several factories, he said, emits polluted air hazardous to healthy living. And in central Jeddah there is a massive movement of traffic which means more car emissions that are generally bad for the health. He said some studies have shown that a large segment of the population living near gas-emitting water desalination factories suffers from asthma and dermal allergy. He added that the city's environmental map shows that inhabitants on the eastern side of the highway near the Misk lake are more likely to be affected by several severe diseases like dengue fever. Besides mosquitoes, other tiny insects that cannot be seen with the naked eye proliferate around the lake. “Environmental solutions that have been internationally studied and tested must be carried out. There is no use employing temporary solutions,” he said. Dr. Kammas noted that moving the garbage dump to a location away from the highway's eastern area helped the inhabitants there who were suffering from the effects of burning garbage, which also affected several neighboring districts. He said that pollution at the Corniche has not reached the extent of threatening the water. Yet it is necessary to preserve the marine environment and seashore by spraying insecticides for cockroaches and mice that are found at the Corniche. Dr. Kammas hoped that the PME, which is currently studying pollution at the Kingdom's seashores, would take radical measures to link the environment with development in a scientific manner. He called for high-level environmental awareness campaigns directed at all segments of society, eliminating old cars with lead emissions and continuing programs to combat mosquitoes.
