Istanbul, Ankara have clean air, says ministry official

The air in Istanbul and capital Ankara is clean, an Environment and Urbanization Ministry official told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Wednesday.

Speaking about recent evaluation of air pollution levels in the two major cities, Environment and Urbanization Ministry Undersecretary Mustafa Öztürk said: "During an air inversion, air pollution levels increase to a sensitive degree."

An inversion refers to abnormal temperature increases that can lead to smog.

"We do not experience a critical level of air pollution in either Ankara or Istanbul," he said.

Öztürk added that the most common reasons for air pollution are poor-quality coal, vehicles with faulty exhaust systems, large vehicles carrying more weight than their capacity and industrial output.

"In Turkey, 20 years ago, air pollution was caused by sulphur dioxide. We prevented it. We also do not have carbon monoxide," he said. "Breathing in clean air is every citizen's right."

Öztürk said that the ministry is able to instantly check air quality in 253 areas. "We aim to expand our checkpoint areas to 300 by the end of 2017, and 400 by 2018."