Iraq: Under poisoned skies

Available for over a year

A BBC Arabic investigation reveals the deadly impact of toxic air pollution on children and the planet from oil fields in southern Iraq. Around the city of Basra flames and smoke from gas flares are visible right across the horizon. Despite laws that say flaring – the burning off of excess gas from oil production – should not happen within 10km of people’s homes, many local residents live much closer than that. The BBC has found that the rates of cancer, particularly leukaemia, in children living in the area are significantly elevated. Working with a local scientist, air and urine samples are taken to see if the gas flares might be responsible. The investigation also finds that the major oil companies often do not include the flaring from these Iraqi fields in their greenhouse gas emissions. Presenter: Jess Kelly Producers: Owen Pinnell and John Murphy (Photo: Children watching gas flares at Nahran Omar oilfield, Basra)