With a population of 1.5 million, Hatay is the border city of Turkey and Syria. Iskenderun, a major town in the city, acts as a port for the heavy industry and coal power plants. Similarly to Adana, steel-iron plants, heavy industry and an active coal power plant, Diler İskenderun coal power plant, with its 1200MW installed capacity, are the main drives of air pollution in Hatay.[1]
According to World Health Organisation (WHO) calculations, Hatay’s residents breathe hazardous levels of fine particulate matter, PM 2.5, that are 2.8 times higher than the WHO’s safe levels.[2] According to official air quality measurements, in 2015 both of the two stations in Hatay measured annual PM10 levels above of the WHO’s recommended levels. [3]