Trabzon air quality map

What type of information about air quality is found on the air pollution map for Trabzon?

The air pollution map for Trabzon is towards the top of the main city page and acts as a link to a new set of pages which are filled with all relevant information about air quality.

When the page opens, the viewer will be met with a map with a coloured background which is an indication of the present state of the air. The full meaning of all the colours used can be seen in the legend at the foot of the screen. The available colours range from pale green to dark maroon where the darker colours are used as the quality gets worse. They are used as standard colours over all of the IQAir site so as to avoid confusion. The present colour of greenish/yellow shows that the air quality is “Moderate”.

There are also several coloured discs scattered across the map which represent the locations of the ground-level air monitoring stations although not all are necessarily under the direct jurisdiction of the city. The colours seen on the disc follow the same pattern as before. If they appear to be on top of each other, the map can be slowly expanded which will cause the discs to separate.

Each station can be individually selected so that those pages will open and reveal all the pertinent information for that specific area of the city. This can be very useful if travel is imminent.

They all display a number at their centre which is the United States Air Quality Index reading or US AQI for short for that specific station. This reading is calculated by ascertaining the levels of up to six of the most commonly occurring pollutants found in the city air. These are nearly always both sizes of Particulate Matter (PM2.5 and PM10), ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide. Once the US AQI reading is established it can be used as a standard when making comparisons between different cities and areas across the globe.

Briefly looking back at the main city page, it can be seen in the coloured band at the top of it that in May 2023, Trabzon was experiencing a period of air quality classified as “Moderate” with a US AQI reading of 57. The main pollutant was found to be PM2.5 with a recorded level of 15µg/m³ (microns per cubic metre) which is three times higher than the suggested target figure of 5µg/m³ as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Immediately below the air pollution map for Trabzon can be seen the number of contributors there are that operate the ground-level monitoring stations on behalf of the city. Currently, there are three stations which are under the control of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation which is a government department that operates 263 stations throughout the country.

Are there any more fascinating facts and figures about air quality on the air pollution map for Trabzon?

There are a lot more facts and figures about air quality on the air pollution map for Trabzon and they are very easy to find. Whilst the map is open, by selecting the full-screen option from the top right-hand side of the screen, a drop-down list of four options will appear.

These options can each be individually deactivated to get a better idea of the effects they have on the map. The first option shows the sites of all the ground-level air monitoring stations there are in the region although they may not all be under the jurisdiction of the city.

The second option shows the location of any wildfires there are in the vicinity that are burning out of control. At the time of writing in May 2023, there were no reports of any fires burning in the area. If fires are reported, then option four needs to be studied because it shows the speed and direction of the prevailing winds and will give a good indication of where the ensuing smoke will drift.

The third option will change the background colour of the map to indicate the current state of the air. If this total colouration is too distractive, it can be disabled so the map will then revert to a more subdued colour palette.

On the right-hand side of the page can be seen the World AQI Ranking where the top seven worst polluted cities are ranked according to their levels of air pollution. There are more statistics in the full-ranking section where the remainder of the participating world cities will be listed in descending order of cleanliness.

Immediately below the contributor’s section can be seen a list which ranks the most polluted areas of the city according to their US AQI readings. Currently, the most polluted area of the city is around the Fatih station with a US AQI reading of 63 which is “Moderate”.

Following on from there is the most popular station ranked by the number of loyal followers it has. The station at Besirli is number one with a total number of followers being almost 3,000.

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

Whilst the source of polluted air is not shown directly on the air quality map for Trabzon, it is generally known that unplanned urbanization, population growth, migration to cities, unplanned industrial zones and traffic management are among the main causes of air pollution.

In 2022, more than 61 thousand environmental inspections were carried out. During these inspections, administrative fines of approximately 483 million liras were imposed on more than 5,000 facilities, which were identified as causing environmental pollution, and banned 351 enterprises from operating.

What are PM2.5 and PM10 that are often quoted on the air pollution map for Trabzon?

PM stands for particulate matter (also called particulate pollution): the term for a mixture of airborne solid particles and liquid droplets. Some particles, such as dust, dirt, soot or smoke, are too large or dark to be seen with the naked eye. Others are so small that they can only be detected using an electron microscope.

Because fine particles are so small and light, they tend to stay in the air longer than heavier particles. This increases the likelihood of humans and animals inhaling these particles. Due to their small size (less than 2.5 microns), these particles can easily pass through the nose and throat and penetrate the lungs, and some may even enter the circulatory system.