Air quality in Malacky

What is the current level of air pollution in Malacky?

Malacky is a town and municipality in western Slovakia around 35 kilometres north of the capital Bratislava. A census conducted in 2018 estimated the population of Malacky to be approximately 17,500 people so it is not a very large city.

In early March 2022, Malacky was experiencing air quality that was classified as being “Unhealthy for sensitive groups” with a US AQI reading of 110. 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 four of the main pollutants measured in Malacky which were; PM2.5 - 39 µg/m³, PM10 - 46 µg/m³, nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) - 22 µg/m³ and sulphur dioxide (SO₂) - 3 µg/m³.

This level of PM2.5 is just under four times 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 advice that is offered would be to remain indoors as much as possible, closing doors and windows to prevent the ingress of more polluted air. It is advisable to use an air purifier, 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 the situation improves. If this is unavoidable, then a high-quality face mask should be worn at all times. All types of outdoor exercise should be avoided until the air quality gets better. 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 vary much throughout the year in Malacky?

Air quality can be affected by many things, therefore it can and does change rapidly depending on the local conditions. Looking back at the 2020 figures published by IQAir.com, it can be seen that the month of October provided the cleanest air with a reading of 11.4 µg/m³ which placed it in the “Good” category. The remaining eleven months of the year saw air quality from the “Moderate” category with readings between 12.1 and 35.4 µg/m³. The cleanest month was July with a 12.7 µg/m³ figure, the worst was January with a 25.6 µg/m³ reading.

Historically, records regarding air quality were first kept in 2017 when an annual average was recorded as being 17.2 µg/m³. This declined slightly in 2018 with a figure of 18.1 µg/m³. In 2019 an improvement was noted when the recorded figure was 16.1 µg/m³, however, a slight deterioration happened in 2020 with a 16.8 µg/m³ reading. This figure would 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.

What is the main source of polluted air in Malacky?

Contributors to poor air quality in Slovakia include power generation, the manufacturing industry, food processing, and vehicle emissions. Motor vehicles pollute the atmosphere mainly with nitrogen oxides, fine particulate matter and ground-level ozone precursors. Out-dated fleet, high levels of passenger traffic as well as transit traffic are a frequent cause of such pollution.

Measures that could help improve the air quality in cities are:

• Support of public transport and the related construction of overflow car parks on the outskirts of individual cities
• Integrated public transport
• Car fleet modernisation
• Divert transiting traffic away from cities, goods redistribution from car freight transport to rail
• Cycling infrastructure development in cities not only for the purpose of relaxation, but also travel to work, local delivery of goods, etc

Domestic heaters can be a major source of pollution as the fuel they burn is often very low quality. Heating with old-type boilers often leads to higher emissions because waste products are often disposed of at the same time.

What can be done to improve air quality in Malacky?

Air pollution is very harmful to the health of European citizens. Approximately 400,000 people die prematurely each year due to excessive levels of air pollutants such as dust particles, nitrogen dioxide and ozone. For about 30 years now, the EU has had legislation on clean air, which sets limits on air pollutant concentrations. However, poor air quality is still common in most EU Member States and in many European cities. We have found that European citizens are still breathing harmful air, especially due to insufficient legislation and unsatisfactory policy implementation. Our recommendations aim to strengthen the Ambient Air Quality Directive and to support further effective action by the European Commission and Member States, including better policy coordination and public information.

What are some of the detrimental effects of breathing polluted air?

Exposure to air pollution can affect everyone’s health. When we breathe, pollution enters our lungs and can enter our bloodstream. Air pollution can contribute to small annoyances like coughing or itchy eyes. It can also cause or worsen many diseases involving the lungs and breathing, leading to hospitalizations, cancer, or even premature death.

Short term symptoms resulting from exposure to air pollution include itchy eyes, nose and throat, wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath, chest pain, headaches, nausea, and upper respiratory infections (bronchitis and pneumonia). It also exacerbates asthma and emphysema. Long term effects include lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory illness, and developing allergies. Air pollution is also associated with heart attacks and strokes.