Cairo is once again under the shadow

Egyptian farmers ride a cart as smoke from burning hay stubbles obscures the sunset in the Nile delta village of Damerah near al-Mansura City, 130 kms north of Cairo, 20 October 2007. Ranked one of the most polluted cities in the world, Cairo is once again under the shadow of a highly toxic black cloud which mysteriously settles above the huge city every autumn. Exhaust fumes belched by millions of cars mixed with the hypertoxic emissions of the annual burning of rice stubble in rural areas of the Nile Delta are a prime cause, along with the city's ever-expanding population.