Manama - Post Report Question and Answers
What is the air quality like at post (good/moderate/bad)? Are there seasonal air quality issues? Does the air quality have an impact on health?
Not great, a lot of dust storms during and right before the summer. The winters can be quite nice, it just depends on how much sand blows in from the Arabian peninsula. I am not sure how much it affects people's health on a regular basis, but if you have respiratory issues then you're going to have problems during the big storms. - Apr 2017
The air quality is fine most of the time until sandstorms blow in. Then you just stay inside. - Nov 2015
Unhealthy. There are regular sand storms in the spring during which you can barely see more than 10 feet in front of you. Many old cars spew exhaust. There are no emissions controls. Oh and did we mention the regular tear gas attacks? Police use tear gas like it's going out of style, attacking demonstrators so often that the tear gas wafts over into residential neighborhoods including embassy compounds. - Aug 2014
Good most of the time. It can be dusty, particularly during wind storms in the winter. - Sep 2012
The air quality varies depending on the wind. It can be very good on a still day (hot and humid, but breathable). But if it's windy, the whole island will almost disappear in a cloud of dust, which sometimes doesn't go away for days. - Apr 2010
