Air quality in Paracin

What is the current level of air pollution in Paraćin?

Paraćin is a town located in the Pomoravlje District of central Serbia. It is located in the valley of the Velika Morava River, north of Kruševac and southeast of Kragujevac. According to a census conducted in 2011, Paraćin had an estimated population of approximately 25,000 residents.

At the beginning of 2022, Paracin was experiencing a period of air quality classified as being “Unhealthy for sensitive groups” with a US AQI reading of 126. This United States Air Quality Index number is an internationally used set of metrics supported by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and is used to compare the air quality in different cities throughout the world using comparable standards. It is calculated by using the levels of the six most commonly found pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide and both sizes of particulate matter, which are PM2.5 and PM10. If all six figures are not always available in which case, a level is calculated by using what data there is. There were five major pollutants measured in Paraćin which were; PM2.5 - 45.8 µg/m³, PM10 - 83.2 µg/m³, ozone (O₃) - 22.7 µg/m³, nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) - 22.7 µg/m³ and sulphur dioxide (SO₂) - 7.3 µg/m³.

This level of PM2.5 is just over four and a half times above the recommended safe level of 10 µg/m³ as suggested by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as being an acceptable level. Although no amount of air pollution is considered to be safe.

When air pollution is classified as being “Unhealthy for sensitive groups” the given advice would be to remain indoors as much as possible, closing doors and windows to prevent the ingress of more polluted air. The operation of an air purifier would be beneficial if one is available, but ensure it is set to recirculate the existing air and not import more polluted air from outside. Those who are more sensitive to poor quality air should avoid venturing outside until it improves. If this is unavoidable, then a good quality face mask should be worn at all times. All types of outdoor exercise should be avoided until the air quality improves. There is a downloadable app from AirVisual.com which is suitable for all operating systems and gives the latest information regarding air quality in real-time.

Does the level of air pollution remain the same throughout the year in Paraćin?

Air quality can be very volatile as it can easily be affected by many things. Looking back at the figures published by IQAir.com for 2020, it can be seen that during the months of February and March, Paraćin achieved the target figure as stipulated by the WHO of being 10 µg/m³ or less. The respective figures were 6.9 and 7.2 µg/m³. November was the worst month of the year with a reading of 36.2 µg/m³ which is classified as being “Unhealthy for sensitive groups”. There were no figures recorded for the month of October, but the remaining eight months returned figure from the “Moderate” category with readings between 12.1 and 35.4 µg/m³.

Records for air quality were first kept in 2019 when a low figure of 9.2 µg/m³ was recorded which is below the WHO target figure. However, the year 2020 saw a sharp decline in air quality when the figure was 16.5 µg/m³. This figure was unexpected because it may have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as many vehicles were no longer in daily use because the offices were closed and the staff encouraged to work from home, in an attempt to halt the spread of the virus. Many factories and non-essential production units were also required to close which removed their emissions from the atmosphere, albeit on a temporary basis. Worldwide, cities reported a much better quality of air due to the general lack of traffic pollution in city centres due to the pandemic.

Is there a main source of air pollution in Paraćin?

Particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide and ground-level ozone are the pollutants that cause the greatest harm to human health and the environment in Europe. The main sources of these pollutants are road transport, domestic heating, agriculture and industry.

Causes of air pollution in Serbia are: poor quality fuel combustion, poor quality of motor fuels, use of old vehicles without catalysts, outdated technology in the industrial and energy sector, lack of national cadastre of air pollutants, lack of national greenhouse gas inventory and inadequate air quality monitoring network.

It is believed that exhaust gases from motor vehicles may contribute the most to air pollution, especially in larger cities. Exhaust emissions contribute to high atmospheric concentrations of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and ground-level ozone.

What can be done to improve air quality in Paraćin?

Air pollution levels in many of Europe’s cities still exceed both the EU’s legal limits and the World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) guidelines for the protection of human health. The tragic consequence of this is that, according to the EEA’s estimates, every year about 400 000 Europeans die prematurely because of poor air quality.

Air pollution is the number one cause of premature deaths from environmental factors in Europe but it also has considerable economic impacts. It increases medical costs and reduces economic productivity due to the ill health of workers. Air pollution also harms soil, crops, forests, lakes and rivers. Pollutants even damage our houses, bridges and other built infrastructure.

What are the detrimental effects of breathing in polluted air?

Outdoor pollutants are usually more prominent in cities that have more car exhaust or industrial emissions. Each city may have different levels of air pollution, which may depend on temperature, weather conditions, geographical location, wind and other such variables. Nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, ozone, particles, etc., are some common types of outdoor air pollutants.

The following are health problems you may encounter if you are exposed to air pollution: respiratory disorders such as asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, etc. Coughing, excessive fatigue or tiredness, lung infection, eye irritation, sinusitis and cancer. Air pollution can be fatal for pregnant women, children and babies with respiratory conditions.