Air quality in Pancevo

What is the level of air pollution in Pancevo now?

Pančevo is a city and the administrative centre of the South Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern part of the Banat region on the banks of the Tamis and Danube rivers. According to the 2011 census, Pancevo had an estimated population of approximately 123,000 people. This ranked it as the 9^th largest city in Serbia.

Towards the middle of 2021, Pancevo was enjoying a period of “Good” quality air with a US AQI number of just 26. 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 concentrations of the six most commonly found pollutants. If figures for all are not available, the figure is calculated using what information there is. In the case of Pancevo, there were five pollutants recorded which were as follows: PM2.5 - 3.4 µg/m³, PM10 - 7.1 µg/m³, ozone (O₃) - 62.6 µg/m³, nitrogen dioxide (NO₂- 4.9 µg/m³ and sulphur dioxide (SO₂) - 1.5 µg/m³. These figures are all quoted in microns/micrograms per cubic metre.

With a relatively low level of pollution such as this, the advice given is to open doors and windows to allow the increase in fresh air flowing through the rooms. And all types of outdoor activity can be enjoyed without fear. The table published at the top of this page will help you decide what to do.

Does this level of pollution remain constant in Pancevo?

Air quality is very unstable as it is easily affected by many things. The seasons of the year, wind speed and direction and sunlight can all affect air quality.

Looking back at the figures released by the Swiss air monitoring company, IQAir.com for 2020, it can easily be seen that during June and September, Pancevo achieved the target level for air quality as suggested by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Their suggested level is 10 µg/m³, for Pancevo’s level in June it was 7.8 µg/m³ and it was 6.9 µg/m³ for September. The two months in between saw a “Good” quality of air with figures between 10 and 12 µg/m³.

February through May and October through December brought “Moderate” air quality with readings between 12.1 and 35.4 µg/m³. The remaining month of January saw a spike with an “Unhealthy” level of 68.4 µg/m³. Possibly due to the colder weather when indoor heating is required.

Records regarding air pollution were not kept here before 2020 when the average annual figure was recorded as being 24.5 µg/m³. However, this may not be an accurate reflection of reality because of the restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many vehicles were no longer used as the drivers were furloughed and not required to commute to and from work. There were also many factories and other non-essential production units which were temporarily closed in an attempt to prevent the spread of the virus.

What are the main sources of air pollution in Pancevo?

Factories, traffic and individual fireplaces are the main culprits for poor air quality. While documents and strategies are being written and implemented, citizens are witnessing frequent peaks of pollution and environmental incidents in a city where pollution has been a trademark for decades. After a particularly bad weekend with regards to air quality many citizens complained to the city officials and some even called on their fellow citizens to take to the streets and protest against the poor air quality.

A significant source of pollution are suspended particles, which are emitted by factories as well as furnaces. Measurements of the city monitoring for air quality control show that the air, in the city of Pancevo, from 2006 (since the measurements of PM10 were kept) until today, is most loaded with suspended particles of PM10 and PM2.5.

What can be done to improve the air quality in Pancevo?

However, pollution from industry has been declining slightly in the last ten years, primarily due to the use of better technology in operation, but also due to the reduction in the number of factories in the Southern Zone. Of the former three giants, only one remains now.

Outdated technologies, the fact that there is no waste gas purification or filters are of low efficiency, irrational use of raw materials and energy, as well as poor maintenance of the plant. These are areas which need to be addressed in order to reduce air pollution.

The good news is that all cement plants have started accelerated modernisation after privatisation, and NIS, under public pressure and the Ministry of Science and Environment, started this process this year, without waiting for the ownership transformation.

A significant part of the blame for "polluting" the air lies with old vehicles, until recently mass-imported, which still use leaded gasoline and low-quality motor fuels. This is the reason why the Environmental Protection Administration will envisage higher taxes for vehicles that use leaded gasoline. Thus, pollution, the cause of which is traffic, which is growing day by day, primarily in large cities, is becoming a concern of the institutions in charge of environmental protection.

How does this poor air in Pancevo affect human health?

Suspended particles are a mixture of dust, soot, and heavy metals, and when they reach the respiratory organs, the deepest layers of the lungs, they cause inflammatory changes. This can also lead to chronic problems, which are most pronounced in the sensitive population, namely children and the elderly, say the doctors of the Public Health Institute in Pancevo. They affect the processes in the body, not only in the lungs, but numerous studies have shown that they have a very negative effect on the development of brain functions, especially in younger children, then the possibility of infertility and a number of chronic diseases and exacerbations in chronic patients’ symptoms and course of the disease.

The concentration of these particles varies during the day and depends on the climatic conditions in certain parts of the country and cities. Pollution is affected by low temperatures, high air pressure and the establishment of a temperature inversion that occurs when a layer of cold air above the ground does not allow heated and polluted air to escape into the atmosphere.