Car exhaust smog over Icelandic capital

The whole Greater Reykavik saw high levels of pollution yesterday, with a layer of yellow car-exhaust smog visible over many parts.

The pictures shown here are taken near the Rio Tinto Alcan aluminium plant near the municipality of Hafnarfjörður, but the pollution comes mostly from cars, according to Þorsteinn Jóhannsson of the Environment Agency of Iceland.

Wet roads and wind-free conditions meant there was little particulate pollution in the air, but that exhaust pollution did not disperse.

“There is similar pollution in Reykjavik every day,” says Jóhannsson, “but the wind generally carries it away.”

Photo: Sól­veig Dag­mar Þóris­dótt­ir

Photo: Sól­veig Dag­mar Þóris­dótt­ir