The effects of the environmental disaster   What happened in Kuwait from February 21, 1991 is a global environmental catastrophe of our planet, which cannot be regionally limited. The 730 oil wells scattered in the areas of Al Ahmadi, Al Burgan, Al Sabrylah and Al Wafra, set on fire by Saddam Hussein's troops on the run, were extinguished thanks to the skill of hundreds of Fire Fighters after eight months. The above data on what happened need much more consideration: 100,000 tons of black smoke 50,000 tons of sulphurous anhydride 20,000 tons of sulphur compound were introduced in the atmoshere every 24 hours. Every day 6 millions of oil barrels were burnt down: the double of the current Kuwaitian production and three times as much as the U.S. daily consumption. One million tons of oil were put in the waters of the Persian Gulf, that is as much as the cargoes of ten oil supertankers. The light reduction caused the so-called "night effect" up to 200 km from the frontline of the flames, lowing the temperature of 10 degrees centigrade. The fumes released by the oil wells stood in the atmosphere as far as 1,800 meters of altitude and the acid rains brought them back to the earth ruining the crops and the vegetation up to 2,000 km from the starting point. A black snow fell on the Himalayan chain, causing a double absorption of the sun heat and subsequently an early thawing of snow with the inlet of severely polluted waters in the rivers. Kuwait was an enormous mined field, very difficult to clear; it was oil-stained, full of waste, bombs and soot, so that even the sand was asphalt-coloured in many years. Back Home Blue Planet Via Faentina, 127 - 50133 Florence, Italy ph. +39 55 575488 - fax +39 55 587321 E-mail: blueplanet@catpress.com ©Blue Planet - All rights reserved.