Air quality in Burdur

Is Burdur highly polluted?

Burdur is a city located in the southwestern region of Turkey, being the seat of Burdur Province, bordering others such as Isparta, Denizli, Antalya and Mugla. Similar to many other cities in Turkey, it has some problems with its air pollution levels, causing numerous issues to the environment, ecosystems and the health of its inhabitants.

With over seventy two thousand people living there (with a further ninety six thousand in the extended district area, as per a census taken in 2012), as well as having a climate that is subject to some large changes of temperature and weather conditions depending on the time of the year, subsequently Burdur has certain months of its year come in with elevated readings of pollution.

These meteorological factors can have a large part to play in air pollution levels, with colder months causing a number of anthropological effects to also occur, with people often resorting to consuming more electricity from power plants in order to provide heating to both homes and businesses, along with certain households resorting to burning charcoal, Turkish coal (which is well known as being a major contributor to pollution levels, due to its poor quality causing it to give off large amounts of chemical compounds and fine particles when burnt) and firewood, all of which can cause the PM2.5 levels to rise rapidly during the colder months of the year.

In June of 2021, Burdur came in with a US AQI reading of 62, placing it in the 'moderate' pollution ratings bracket. This is color coded as yellow (for ease of navigation when referring to the various air quality maps and graphs present on the IQAir website), and requires a US AQI reading of anywhere between 51 to 100 to be classified as such. At the same time, the PM2.5 concentration in the air was above the world health organization's (WHO's) recommendation for safe exposure, and as such may present some risks to certain individuals.

A 'moderate' rating of air pollution will typically present few issues amongst the general public, but as mentioned, certain vulnerable or at-risk people may present with a number of issues. These individuals include ones such as young children and babies, along with the elderly, all of whom are at greater risk of having minor respiratory infections develop into more serious issues (particularly amongst the elderly). Others include those with compromised immune systems, a hypersensitivity towards chemicals or particles, as well as those with pre-existing health conditions.

When higher levels of US AQI present themselves, such individuals, as well as the general public, may wish to implement certain preventative measures in order to safeguard from the potentially ill effects that pollution exposure can bring. This includes the ones mentioned above on the page, which includes wearing particle filtering masks, along with avoiding outdoor activity and strenuous exercise, as well as closing doors and windows to prevent the ingress of pollution, along with running air purifiers if available.

In closing, Burdur did not present with particularly high US AQI readings over the course of June 2021, with the readings coming in between lows of 38 and highs of 64, both falling into the ‘good’ and 'moderate' ratings bracket. However, as will be mentioned in further detail, there are other months which have far greater levels of air pollution present, calling for the need to implement the above mentioned protocols to reduce one’s exposure to pollution.

What health problems can arise from breathing polluted air in Burdur?

Health issues that can or will arise as a result of high pollution exposure will be ones that affect the lungs, heart, and various other organ systems throughout the body. Inflammation of the lungs and respiratory tract can occur, along with scarring of the lung tissue itself.

This can lead to a reduction in full lung function, along with a higher propensity towards developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an umbrella term that refers to a number of illnesses such as pneumonia, bronchitis and emphysema.

What pollutants are found in Burdur’s air?

Other pollutants found in the air besides the ones that are used in the US AQI aggregate are ones such as black carbon, finely ground silica or gravel dust, along with dioxins, furans, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Some examples of VOCs include styrene, benzene and formaldehyde.

When does the air quality become worse in Burdur?

In 2020, Burdur presented with a yearly PM2.5 average reading of 25.4 μg/m³, placing it into the 'moderate' ratings bracket (which is taken in micrograms per cubic meter, or μg/m³). This reading also placed Burdur in 543^rd place out of all cities ranked worldwide, as well as 11^th place out of all cities ranked in Turkey.

PM2.5 is one of the most dangerous types of pollution found in the air, and also goes into making the US AQI aggregate (with the US AQI level being calculated from the volume of main pollutants in the air, namely PM2.5 and PM10, along with ozone (O₃), sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) all being used in the aggregation).

Due to its high level of danger that it presents, PM2.5 is also used as a prominent measure of air pollution in its own right. Observing the individual months taken over the course of 2020, one can see that January, November and December all came in with the highest readings of PM2.5. Their respective readings were 42.5 μg/m³, 37.5 μg/m³ and 43.7 μg/m³ respectively.

This placed all of these months into the 'unhealthy for sensitive groups' bracket, which requires a PM2.5 reading of anywhere between 35.5 to 55.4 μg/m³ to be classified as such. Out of the three months mentioned, December was the most highly polluted with its reading of 43.7 μg/m³.

When does the air quality improve in Burdur?

After the higher levels of PM2.5 started to abate in the beginning of the year, Burdur entered into a time period in which the pollution levels were relatively cleaner, with the months of May through to October having the least amount of pollution present.

Whilst none of the months moved out of the 'moderate' pollution ratings bracket down into the cleaner rankings, they nevertheless had levels of PM2.5 that indicated that the atmosphere was significantly freer from smoke, particles and other hazardous forms of pollution. Out of all of these months, August came in with the lowest reading of PM2.5, at 15.7 μg/m³.