According to the World Air Quality Report, in 2020 Ukraine ranked eighth in Europe and 43 in the world by the level of air pollution. Read more in the exclusive blog for the channel 24 website.
The air that does not let you live
According to WHO estimates, air pollution is the cause of one in three strokes, lung cancer and heart disease. What to do about it, especially in cities?
Many factors affect the air quality in the city: industry, motor vehicles, private activities of people, such as waste incineration, dead wood.
“People usually become interested in this when it has a direct impact on their health and well-being,” says Irina Chernysh, head of the SaveDnipro NGO.
< h3 dir="ltr">Do-it-yourself clean city
So, in fact, in 2017, the SaveDnipro initiative was born.
“Six years ago, access to information about “There was no air quality. The only source of information was the reports of the Hydrometeorological Center for half a year or a year. Such reports are valuable for scientific analysis and management decision-making, but, obviously, they did not allow citizens to prevent harm to their health,” adds Chernysh.
With the help of partners, activists installed air quality monitoring posts in the city, created a mobile application and a chat bot. This allows residents of the city to receive timely information about the amount of fine dust in the air and accordingly change their plans: do not go for a walk or reschedule a run on the street. Since air is an inert mass, one should simply wait for the hazardous substances to dissipate.However, such services are not available in all settlements or their districts. In this case, you can install a personal sensor outside your window or subscribe to receive information from the nearest station in your city or village.
There are also known examples of the involvement of socially responsible businesses in air quality monitoring. So, in one of the offices, workers every day watched emissions of black smoke from the chimneys of enterprises through the window. They became interested in how this affects the purity of the air.
Together with employees of the Taras Shevchenko National University, those who are not indifferent have created devices that can accurately determine the content of harmful substances in the air. They are currently helping to monitor air quality in Kyiv, Lvov and Odessa.
How Ukrainian cities are fighting air pollution: video
Who does not let Kyiv suffocate
International ratings of air pollution are formed according to the Swiss service iqair.com. The origin of the air quality information on this site varies from country to country. For France or China, the service uses data from ministries of the environment. In Ukraine, this is information from 8 anonymous measurement stations. This means that 8 Ukrainians bought such stations and installed them on their balconies. Based on these data, information appeared that Kyiv is one of the most polluted cities in the world.
As of December 2021, there were 5 state reference posts in Kyiv, if necessary, at least 13 for a six million agglomeration. However, already in February 2022, 46 indicative sensors were installed in all districts of Kyiv. This is a significant step towards expanding the air monitoring system in the existing capital.
With the war, the phrase “air pollution” took on a different meaning. Shelling of oil depots and chemical plants, massive fires and the constant threat of radiation emissions – the operational headquarters of the State Environmental Service recorded more than 300 exo-crimes of Russia against Ukraine, and this number is constantly growing. We must make every effort to ensure that Russia bears its fair responsibility in accordance with international law.
If you want to complain about the polluted air in your city
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Upload SaveEcoBot in telegram or viber.
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Click the “Report pollution” button -> File a Complaint and select the type of pollution.
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Specify the source of the pollution. If you don't know it, click the appropriate button.
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Indicate place, date and time of contamination. If you don't know the source of the contamination, the location should be clearly indicated with a specific address.
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Include a photo if possible.
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Fill in your personal details and upload your signature. Click the “Submit” button.
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Upload your complaint (or complaints, if any) several, to different institutions), copy the email address in the header of the document and send the finished file to it.
