Raciborz air quality map

Is there a lot of quality information about air pollution on the air quality map for Raciborz?

There are a lot of fascinating facts and figures on the air quality map for Raciborz and they are easily accessible from the main page. The map icon acts as a link which, when selected, will open a new page filled with all the relevant information about air quality.

Once opened, the viewer will notice a solid colour on the map background which is used to show the current state of the air. Colours are standard across the IQAir website and range from pale green to dark purple/maroon. A full explanation of their meaning can be seen in the legend at the foot of the page.

Several coloured discs will be seen distributed across the map which represent the sites of the ground-level air monitoring stations there are in the area although they are not all under the jurisdiction of the city. They each display a number at their centre which is the United States Air Quality Index reading or US AQI for short. This is calculated by taking readings of up to six of the most commonly found 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.

Once this US AQI figure has been determined, it can be used as a metric when comparing air quality in different cities across the globe. The entire system is both endorsed and encouraged by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Each station can be explored individually because, when selected, they will reveal a lot of information about air quality in that specific part of the city. This can be useful when travelling to other areas.

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 “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” with a US AQI reading of 103. The orange colour of the banner also reflects this poor-quality air. The levels of three of the main pollutants were recorded but it was PM2.5 which is thought of as being the main one. It had a recorded level of 36.5 µg/m³ (microns per cubic metre) which is more than seven times the suggested target figure of 5 µg/m³ as recommended by the WHO.

Just below the air pollution map for Raciborz can be seen the number of contributors there are that collect and collate the air quality data on behalf of the city authorities. Currently, there is one station which is overseen by two government departments. One is the Inspekcja Ochrony Środowiska and the other is unidentified at the time of writing.

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

There is an icon which 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.

On the left-hand side of the screen will be seen a list of four options which can each be turned on or off to see the full effects they all have on the map.

The first option will reveal the location of all the ground-level air monitoring stations there are in the vicinity. These stations can all be explored further by selecting the chosen site when another page will open showing all the information gathered by that station. Even the ones that are far from the city can be opened and studied if travel to that area is imminent.

Option number two will show the positions of any wildfires there are that might be burning out of control in the area. Fortunately, in April 2023, there were no reports of any wildfires in the region. When fires are detected, option number four needs to be checked out because it shows the speed and direction of the prevailing winds and will give a good indication of where the ensuing smoke may drift.

Option number three will change the background colour of the map to reflect 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 difficult to read. In this case, the option can be deactivated and the map will revert to a more subdued palette.

More facts and figures can be seen on the right-hand side of the screen where a table ranks the seven most polluted cities from across the globe. This is just a brief insight because the full-ranking section contains more pages with the rest of the participating world cities listed in descending order.

Directly below the contributor’s category is the section which shows where the most polluted areas of the city are according to the readings obtained by the stations. Currently, the most polluted area is in the vicinity of Racibórz - Wojska Polskiego 8 which published the US AQI reading of 107 which is classified as being “Unhealthy for sensitive groups”.

Below is a section which shows which the most popular stations are according to the number of followers they have. The most popular one is currently Racibórz - Wojska Polskiego 8 with just 5 loyal followers.

Can the source of the polluted air be seen on the air quality map for Raciborz?

The source of air pollution is not directly shown on the air quality map for Raciborz, but like most major cities the sources of PM2.5 emissions include the combustion of solid fuels, as well as pollution from fuel combustion in cars and industry activities. Scientists point to the relationship between the amount of these pollutants and the average life expectancy of the inhabitants of the city.

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

Smog consists of harmful chemical substances, such as particulate matter, hydroxides, nitrogen and sulphur oxides. The most dangerous substances include particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), benzo(a)pyrene and nitrogen oxides. The source of these substances is human activity, and the main cause of air pollution with these substances is the so-called low emission. (Low emissions are any exhaust fumes that get into the air at low altitudes. It is assumed that this term applies to all chimneys with a height of less than 40 m.)