How safe is the air in Ukraine's regional capitals?

How safe is the air in Ukraine's regional capitals? shutterstock
Maria Semenova

The situation varies greatly across the country, and air quality isn't the worst in cities with populations of over a million

In recent days, air quality in Ukraine’s major cities has been mostly moderate, with the exception of two regional centers in western Ukraine. There, pollution levels pose a health risk to people with respiratory or cardiovascular conditions.

This is according to data from IQAir, a Swiss platform that monitors air pollution levels in cities.

In Kyiv, monitoring stations are recording good and moderate air quality, with no critical exceedances. As of the morning of March 18, the highest pollution levels were recorded by equipment installed in Osokorky and Pechersk. Additionally, there is a warning about the risk of dust pollution in the southern part of the city.

iqair.com

Source: iqair.com

It should be noted that according to the latest data in the ranking of the most polluted capitals, Kyiv is only in 68th place.

In Dnipro, Odesa, Kharkiv, and Lviv, air quality is also good or moderate. That means according to IQAir data, there are no critical exceedances

As of Wednesday morning, among the Ukrainian cities with IQAir posts, the most critical air quality indicators were observed in Chernivtsi and Ivano-Frankivsk. There, some monitoring stations measure pollution levels at which sensitive people may experience negative bodily reactions.

For example, on Orlyka Street in Chernivtsi, the highest is the concentration of fine particulate matter PM2.5. The indicator reaches 45.9 µg per 1 m3, which is three times higher than the daily limit established by the World Health Organization.

And on Vasylianok Street in Ivano-Frankivsk, the dust level reached as high as 54.7 µg per 1 m3.

EcoPolitic previously reported that in Lviv region, the first indicative sensor for air quality monitoring was installed.

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