Short Wave

‘Black rain’ in Iran and the environmental cost of war

17 Mar 2026

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US-Israeli airstrikes on oil depots culminated in ‘black rain’ in Iran early last week – a phenomenon usually caused by large amounts of soot, carbon and other pollutants in the air. Usually, rain leaves the atmosphere cleaner than it was before. But in this case, the rain left Tehran’s residents with sore throats and burning eyes. Oily, sooty residue was all over the city. So, we talked to an environmental pollution expert to find out: What’s in this ‘black rain’, what are its potential short- and long-term environmental and health effects, and what could recovery look like?Interested in more science behind current events? Email us your question at [email protected] to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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Short Wave

‘Black rain’ in Iran and the environmental cost of war

This episode hasn't been transcribed yet

Other episodes from Short Wave

Should we reengineer the world's deadliest animal?

Is it getting windier?

The magic — and science — of synchronous fireflies

The supertree shielding coastlines and storing carbon

Should you be fibermaxxing? Here's what the science says

Why Swedish scientists gave salmon cocaine

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