Air quality in Brasov

What is the current level of air pollution in Brașov city?

Brașov is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County. According to a census which was conducted in 2011, Brașov had an estimated population of 253,000 residents. This number swelled to 382,000 when the whole metropolitan area is taken into account. This figure ranks it as the seventh most populous city in Romania.

At the start of 2022, Brașov was going through a period of “Moderate” air quality with a US AQI reading of 65. This United States Air Quality Index number is calculated using the levels of six of the most prolific air pollutants, such as nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide and both sizes of particulate matter, which are PM2.5 and PM10. It can then be used as the metric when comparing air quality in other cities around the world. If data is unavailable for all 6 pollutants, a figure can still be calculated by using what figures there are. The only pollutant measured in Brasov was PM2.5 which was 18.9 µg/m³. This level of PM2.5 is just over one and a half times over 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 from this “Moderate” bracket the given advice would be to remain indoors as much as possible, closing doors and windows to prevent the ingress of more polluted air. 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 change much throughout the year in Brașov city?

Air quality is very volatile as it can be easily affected by many things. Looking back at the data published by IQAir.com for 2020, it can be seen that Brașov experienced a wide range of air quality. For the months of May through until the end of August it enjoyed clean air which achieved the target figure set by the WHO of being 10 µg/m³ or less. The cleanest of these months was May with a 7.1 µg/m³ figure. September brought “Good” quality air with a figure of 10.9 µg/m³. October, November and December together with February, March and April saw air quality from the “Moderate” category with readings between 12.1 and 35.4 µg/m³. This just leaves the month of January when the air quality was very poor with a figure of 61.5 µg/m³ which placed it in the “Unhealthy” category.

Historically, records for air pollution have been kept since 2018 when a figure of 21.3 µg/m³ was noted. There was an improvement the following year with a reading of 18.0 µg/m³. A similar figure of 18.3 µg/m³ was recorded in 2020 but this may not be a true reflection of reality 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, 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 Brașov city?

According to a study, the air pollutants identified in urban areas have as main sources the following activities: burning fossil fuels in stationary sources (thermal power plants, combustion in industrial processes); road traffic; burning fossil fuels in mobile sources (cars, non-road mobile equipment, diesel locomotives); storage and distribution of petroleum products; natural gas distribution; laundries; municipal waste storage; construction, rehabilitation, demolition of buildings for various purposes; construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of the elements of the transport infrastructure, of the urban networks, of the parks and green spaces; various industrial processes.

The conclusions regarding the pollutant emissions generated by the activities in Brasov reveal that due to some peculiarities related to the urban model of the agglomeration (urban metropolis developed on the matrix of a medieval settlement, with narrow streets), the microclimatic character imprinted by particular geography able to generate episodes of thermal inversion and "flow" of air masses along the slope of Mount Tâmpa), the pace of urban and industrial development in recent decades, the accelerated growth of the car fleet, environmental conditions have so far worsened, which has represented the basis for paying particular attention in the direction of identifying corrective solutions.

What can be done to improve air quality in Brașov city?

The main measures proposed by the specialists who conducted the study aim at: limiting and managing traffic more efficiently in the central area of the municipality; more efficient street sanitation; promoting, improving and expanding public transport; removal of old vehicles from circulation; continuing the implementation of major infrastructure projects; rehabilitation of thermal energy distribution networks; the continuation of the thermal rehabilitation programs of the blocks of flats, the maintenance and extension of the green spaces, but also the renaturation of the degraded lands subject to wind erosion.

What are the detrimental effects of breathing polluted air?

Air pollution can aggravate asthma symptoms and may even be the cause of the growing number of people suffering from this condition. Dust, smoke and volatile organic compounds are other pollutants that can cause asthma. Asthma attacks can even be caused by cigarette smoke.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by narrowing of the airways - a permanent change rather than a reversible condition. The main cause of COPD is long-term exposure to substances such as polluted air, which irritate and damage the lungs. The two main types of COPD include bronchitis and pulmonary emphysema.

Cystic fibrosis is a progressive genetic disease that can cause persistent lung infections and impair the ability to breathe. Cystic fibrosis causes the formation of thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and can block the pancreas.