The rain that's coming down seems to be saturated or filled with oil.

You can see it's completely black. Everything on the ground is black as well. And if you look

over here at this wall, you can see that the rainwater coming down here is also black.

That's reporting from CNN's Frederick Plankin earlier this month in Tehran.

It occurred the morning after major airstrikes by Israel on Iran's oil facilities.

The city of nearly 10 million people was engulfed in thick black smoke.

The World Health Organization warned

that, quote, the conflict in the Middle East poses serious threats to public health. A new report

from the Think Tank Climate and Community Institute finds that the war unleashed over five

million tons of carbon in just two weeks, which for context is more climate pollution than Iceland

generates in a year. The environmental cost is growing as the death toll rises, too. The U.S. and

Israel's war on Iran has killed at least 1,500 people in the country, that's according to Iran's

health ministry, and experts warn the environmental cost of the war can compound harm on human health

for generations to come. Add to that the energy crisis, the war is brewing, which could lead to

even more long-term effects on the environment and public health. I'm Jen White. You're listening

to the 1A podcast. After a quick break, war, the environment, and our health, stay with us.

Let's jump into the conversation with Doug Weir, the director of the Conflict and Environment

Observatory. That's a UK-based nonprofit, which works to raise awareness about the environmental

and humanitarian consequences of war.

Doug, welcome to the program.

Hi, thanks for having me.

And Professor John Levy, he's the chair of the Environmental Health Department at Boston University School of Public Health.

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