Air quality in Kharkiv

What is the air quality index of Kharkiv?

Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine and is situated in the northeast of the country. It is the largest city of the Slobozhanshchyna historical region. The population of the metropolitan area was 2,032,400 people in 2020.

The city was founded in 1654 and grew to what it has become today; a very large industrial trading area. Hundreds of industrial companies have facilities in the city, including the Morozov Design Bureau and the Malyshev Tank Factory. The latter being world leaders in tank manufacturing between the 1930s and the 1980s.

At the beginning of 2021, Kharkiv was experiencing “Good” quality air with a US AQI figure of just 17. This classification is based on recommendations by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The concentration of the pollutant PM2.5 was 4.1 µg/m³. With figures such as these, the advice is to open doors and windows to let the fresh air inside and enjoy outdoor activities, where possible.

What is the main source of air pollution in Kharkiv?

The Kharkiv Regional Centre for Hydrometeorology monitors the city's air pollution at 10 stationary observation points located in residential areas, industrial zones and highways for 20 pollutants. The main source of air pollution is mobile sources (vehicles), the number of which in Kharkiv is constantly rising, and at the same time, the gross emission of harmful substances into the atmosphere is growing. Analysing the state of the city's air, a decrease in the concentrations of ammonia, iron and zinc can be seen. At last year's level, the content of nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxide, phenol, formaldehyde, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, manganese and copper also fell. However, the dustiness if the city has noticeably increased.

What is the pollution level in Kharkiv?

In August 2020, there was a problem with the emissions given off by a coke-producing plant. At least 50 people protested near the headquarters of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration against the activities of the Coke Plant, more precisely, against its emissions into the air, which is harmful to health. According to one of the protestors, residential areas, schools and kindergartens are located in the pollution zone and the problem of emissions is especially acute at night.

After the protest, the deputy head of the Novobavarskaya RDA noted that the City Council has set up a working group with the participation of environmentalists and if the situation does not improve, the issue of closing the plant will be considered.

It was discovered that the operators of the facility did not have an emissions permit and would therefore be subject to an appropriate fine.

Is air pollution in Kharkiv getting better or worse?

The quality of air in Kharkiv is not getting any better due to a constantly growing number of vehicles on the roads. Many of these are old and technologically very basic. They lack the filtration systems so often found on newer vehicles. The fuel which they use is of a notorious poor quality as are the lubricants. There is insufficient capacity of the road transport network, which developed around the existing buildings in the central part of the city.

Stationary sources of air pollution should include emissions from large industrial enterprises, especially the fuel and energy sector, machine-building, coke and chemical industries.

The most common substances that enter the atmosphere from stationary sources are dust, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide.

What can be done to improve the air quality in Kharkiv?

Given the importance of providing information on the actual situation with the air in Ukraine, the Ministry of Energy has taken a number of measures. An emergency meeting was convened and it re-confirmed that the main source of pollutants in the cities of Ukraine is road transport, in large industrial cities and emissions from enterprises. The road surface is very often of a poor standard and as such produces a lot of dust which circulates up into the atmosphere when vehicles disturb it.

It was noted that, unfortunately, the measurement indicators in Europe and Ukraine differ. In order to be able to compare air quality in Ukraine and other countries, instructions were given to bring Ukrainian indicators in line with the European format. It will take some time because the systems need to be reconfigured and there are currently no funds to modernise the current monitoring system.

In order to double-check the accuracy of the data, the Ministry decided to conduct joint measurements of air pollution with independent laboratories.

No funds have been invested in the modernisation of the state air monitoring system for years. At the moment, the indicators are taken by the State Hydrometeorological Service of Ukraine in two modes. In full mode, sampling is carried out 4 times a day 6 days a week and not in full mode, sampling is carried out twice a day.

Addressing air pollution requires an integrated approach and the involvement from both central and local governments. Regarding industry, the Ministry is currently working on setting up a system of automatic recording of pollutant emissions at enterprises. But local authorities should take care to reduce emissions from vehicles and to organise convenient public transport. The burning of leaves should also be under the control of local services.

What are the effects of breathing Kharkiv’s poor quality air?

We try to eat healthy food, drink clean water, but how often do we think about how "healthy" the air we breathe is? After all, a healthy adult drinks only 2-3 litres of water a day (at most), and inhales air 15 times that, up to 33 m³. At most, we worry about the air on the street and we are worried about smog, exhaust fumes, emissions from businesses. But in fact, the natural movement of the atmosphere and the sun's ultraviolet light is quite effective in removing harmful substances from the air. But indoors apartments and offices the situation is completely different. Studies show that the concentration of harmful substances in the air of residential premises is often between 2 and 5 times higher than the street.

Headache, constant fatigue, inability to concentrate, respiratory discomfort, cough, runny nose, increased allergies, asthma attacks and other similar symptoms that appear as soon as a person comes to work or spends the night at home, but disappear if they go out for a walk or move to another room.