Bursa air quality map

Are there many facts and figures about air quality on the air pollution map for Bursa?

There are many fascinating facts and figures about air quality on the air pollution map for Bursa. The map icon on the main city page acts as a link which, when selected, will open a new page filled with all the latest information about air quality.

Once the new page opens, the viewer will see a strong colouration of the background of the map which is a visual indication of the current air quality. The colours in use vary between pale green and dark maroon where the darker colours are used as the air quality worsens. The full meaning of each colour is explained in the legend at the foot of the screen and is used as a standard across the entire IQAir website. The colour at present is greenish/yellow which indicates that the air quality is “Moderate”.

Several coloured discs will also be seen scattered across the map. These represent the locations of the ground-level air monitoring stations there are in the vicinity, although they are not all under the jurisdiction of the city. Each of these discs displays a number at its centre which is the United States Air Quality Index reading or US AQI for short. This figure is calculated by taking readings of up to six of the most prolific pollutants in the city air. These are usually both sizes of Particulate Matter (PM2.5 and PM10), ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide.

When selecting a station of your choice, a new page will open which is filled with all the relevant information about that specific area. This can be very useful if travelling around the area.

Once established, the figure is used as a standard when making comparisons between different areas and cities across the globe. Its use is actively encouraged by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Briefly looking back to the main city page, it can be seen in the coloured banner across the top of it that the city was experiencing a period of air quality which was “Moderate” with a US AQI reading of 55. The yellow colour of the banner also reflects this level of quality. Four of the main pollutants were measured but it is PM2.5 that is used as a benchmark. It had a recorded level of 14 µg/m³ (microns per cubic metre) which is just short of being three times higher than the suggested level of 5 µg/m³ as recommended by the WHO.

Looking below the air pollution map for Bursa can be seen the number of contributors there are and the number of stations they operate. Currently, there are three stations whose data is collected and collated by two contributors. One is the government department of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation which operate a total of 247 stations throughout the country. The other contributor is the Non-profit organisation known as Ömer Bora which operates the one station.

Does the air pollution map for Bursa hold any more information about air quality in the area?

An icon can be found on the opening page which will re-open it in full-screen mode. In this way, all the information about air quality will be easy to see with nothing being obscured.

When viewed in this way, a list of four options will be seen on the left-hand side of the screen. These can all be turned on or off to see the effects they each have on the map.

The first option shows the location of all the ground-level air monitoring stations there are in the vicinity. The stations that are far from the city can be opened and studied if travel to that area is imminent.

The second option reveals the sites of any wildfires there are that happen to be burning in the vicinity. The air pollution map for Bursa showed no trace of fires in April 2023. If fires are detected then option number four needs to be consulted because it shows the speed and direction of the prevailing winds and will possibly show where the smoke from the fire may drift.

Option number three changes the background colour of the map to show the present state of the air. When air quality is “Good”, the colours will be pale, but as the quality worsens and the colours darken, the map might become more difficult to read. In this case, the option can be deactivated and the map will revert to a more acceptable palette.

There are more facts and figures about air pollution on the right-hand side of the screen. A table will be seen which ranks the seven most polluted cities in the world. There is also a full-ranking section which shows the rest of the world’s participating cities in descending order.

Directly below the contributors’ section can be seen a table which shows the stations that register the highest levels of air pollution. Currently, the dirtiest area of the city is around the station at Beyazit Cad.-MTHM which shows a US AQI reading of 82 which is classed as being “Moderate”.

The next section shows the popularity of the stations according to the number of followers they each have. Currently, it’s the station at Beyazit Cad.-MTHM that has the most followers with just over 4,000 of them.

Is it possible to see the source of the air pollution on the air quality map for Bursa?

Whilst it cannot be seen directly on the air quality map for Bursa, it is well-known that the main source of air pollution which is traffic, industry and heating systems.

Air pollution in Turkey has become unavoidable in recent years. Increasing urbanisation, poor quality fuels and many other polluting factors have affected the entire ecosystem, including humans and animals.

PM2.5 is often quoted on the air pollution map for Bursa, but what is it?

The air we breathe is a mixture of gas, water vapour, dust and chemical compounds. When we breathe, we take the particles in this mixture into our bodies. Large particles are prevented from reaching the lungs by being filtered by the body's filter system, but particles finer than 2.5 microns, especially associated with petroleum fuels such as exhaust fumes, can bypass our body's filter system.

These particles smaller than 2.5 microns are called PM2.5 and the damage of dust of this size is much more than some chemicals we breathe in the air. Because these small particles are so small and light, they tend to stay in the air longer than heavier particles. This increases the likelihood of humans inhaling them. Due to their small size (less than 2.5 microns), they can easily pass through the nose and throat and penetrate the lungs, and some may even enter the blood system.