Air pollution levels in major Ukrainian cities vary widely, from "green" to "orange". And although the air in most cities is safe for people, in some places it is better to avoid going outside unnecessarily.
This is evidenced by data from the international monitoring platform IQAir.
Average pollution figures in Kyiv currently indicate good air quality, with an index of 37 US AQI. The main pollutant is PM2.5 fine particulate matter, with a concentration of 6.6 µg/m3.
At the same time, moderate pollution is recorded at several locations. In particular, the dust concentration is 21.6 µg/m3 on Trostianetska Street, 16.9 µg/m3 on Reheneratorna Street, 18.7 µg/m3 on Sichovykh Striltsiv Street, 28.4 µg/m3 on Vysotskoho Boulevard and 17.7 µg/m3 on Beresteiskyi Avenue. Near Akademika Zabolotnoho Street, an extremely high level of pollution is recorded, with an index of 217 US AQI and a dust content of 141.2 µg/m3.
Among all Ukrainian regional centers, Ivano-Frankivsk has the highest air pollution. The average air quality index is 105 US AQI, and the average dust concentration is 37 µg/m3. These figures correspond to the "orange" hazard level and pose the greatest threat to sensitive groups. Such people should limit their time outdoors and keep windows closed. Locally, several monitoring stations report that the air is currently unhealthy for all residents.
The following regional centers have moderate pollution:
- Chernivtsi: AQI – 79, average dust concentration – 23.9 µg/m3;
- Cherkasy: AQI – 74, average dust concentration – 21.3 µg/m3;
- Ternopil: AQI – 56, average dust concentration – 12 µg/m3;
- Chernihiv: AQI – 54, average dust concentration – 10.6 µg/m3;
- Kharkiv: AQI – 53, average dust concentration – 10.4 µg/m3;
- Zaporizhzhia: AQI – 53, average dust concentration – 10.1 µg/m3.
In the remaining cities, air quality poses no threat to the population:
- Khmelnytskyi: AQI – 49, average dust concentration – 8.9 µg/m3;
- Odesa: AQI – 46, average dust concentration – 8.2 µg/m3;
- Rivne: AQI – 46, average dust concentration – 8.2 µg/m3;
- Lutsk: AQI – 44, average dust concentration – 8 µg/m3;
- Mykolaiv: AQI – 44, average dust concentration – 7.9 µg/m3;
- Dnipro: AQI – 42, average dust concentration – 7.6 µg/m3;
- Kherson: AQI – 39, average dust concentration – 7.2 µg/m3;
- Vinnytsia: AQI – 31, average dust concentration – 5.7 µg/m3;
- Poltava: AQI – 27, average dust concentration – 4.8 µg/m3;
- Lviv: AQI – 22, average dust concentration – 3.9 µg/m3;
- Zhytomyr: AQI – 18, average dust concentration – 3.2 µg/m3;
- Uzhhorod: AQI – 8, average dust concentration – 1.5 µg/m3.
Air quality is an important component of public health. Constant exposure to pollution can worsen the symptoms of existing respiratory or cardiovascular diseases and also trigger them in healthy people. Learn more about the impact of the environment on health here.
