Air quality in Perm

Does Perm have clean air?

Perm is a city located in the federal area of Perm Krai in Russia, being the largest city in the region as well as the administrative center. It finds itself situated next to both the Ural Mountains and the Kama river, and is counted as the fourteenth largest city in the country, with over a million residents living within the city limits. It has a history of being an important trade route due to its location, having housed many industrial facilities. This continues on until today, with Perm having an economy based around the manufacturing of industrial materials and agricultural machinery.

Whilst this is an important factor in the ongoing wellbeing of the city’s inhabitants, aiding in its economic growth and quality of living, it can also have the subsequent effect of reducing the air quality during certain times of the year due to pollutive buildups, although when this is not occurring, the air quality can maintain an extremely respectable level, with geographical features as well as meteorological ones aiding in the reduction of pollutive buildup.

In early 2021, Perm was recorded with PM2.5 readings between 2.6 and 4.1 μg/m³, extremely good readings that would place Perm into the World Health Organizations (WHO's) target goal for the best quality of air at 10 μg/m³ or less. This indicates that during the early months of 2021, the city maintained a great quality of air, but as with all cities that have an industrial presence, this can be subject to change, but as it currently stands, Perm has a very clean level of air quality.

Are there any causes of air pollution in Perm?

Whilst it still holds very respectable PM2.5 readings, there would be polluting sources that would afflict the city throughout certain times of the year. Many areas in Russia have a history of environmental destruction, with the air, soil and water all having been affected by extreme negligence and lack of forward thought practiced during the soviet era, with many manmade disasters having been left untended, with only modern era Russia mobilizing itself to fix these pollutive issues.

In Perm, the main causes of pollution would be vehicular emissions, as with an extremely large population often comes a high level of vehicle ownership, something which will only increase as time goes on. Many vehicles in cities throughout Russia are also of the aged variety, which can cause further pollution buildups though the poor combustion process that takes place in these older motors, which leak a higher amount of noxious oil vapors and hazardous particulate matter. Other prominent causes would be factory and power plant emissions, both of which run on unsustainable fuel sources such as coal. Construction sites, road repairs and demolition areas are also sources of PM2.5 and PM10 that can affect the air quality in Perm.

What can be done to reduce any pollution in Perm?

As mentioned, whilst in the early months of the year, the city has a very appreciable level of air quality. However, during times of higher pollution (which can and will occur in even the cleanest of cities worldwide if the conditions are correct, with lack of winds coupled with several polluting events all coming together to create a compounded situation) there are measures that can be taken. On an individual level, protection from the harmful effects of pollution can be mitigated by the wearing of fine particle filtering masks, as well as the avoidance of outdoor activities when pollution levels are higher.

On a citywide scale, the introduction of more stringent road rules can be of great aid, removing aged vehicles off of the road and thus cutting down on exhaust based pollution. Others would be the introduction of emission caps on all the industrial areas, with certain limits on pollutants in the air around these areas holding a standard for what level of pollution cannot be surpassed, and if it is crossed over by the excessive release of smoke and haze from factories, then fines and charges can be imposed, as well as the threat of closure. These are all strong incentives to get industrial areas and businesses to comply in helping to keep the air clean.

Who is most at risk to polluted air in Perm?

Whilst there are no groups of any given population that are truly immune to the damaging effects of air pollution, and the dangerous chemicals they can introduce into the body, it stands to reason that there are certain groups and demographics that are even more at risk due to a number of reasons. These would include the elderly, young children, those with preexisting medical conditions (particularly of the respiratory or cardiac variety) or those with compromised immune systems. Children are vulnerable towards developing allergies or related respiratory conditions such as asthma, both issues that can turn into lifelong problems if not adequately addressed.

Another group would be pregnant mothers, who can suffer from grave consequences if they are over exposed during this vital period of time. Chances of miscarriage can go up significantly, raising the infant mortality rate. As well as this, babies can be born with a low birth weight, or prematurely, thus indicating the far reaching and damaging effects that higher levels of pollution can have on the population.

What are the main pollutants found in the air in Perm?

The main pollutants in the air in Perm would be ones that typically arise from vehicle engines and the combustion of fuel, ranging from diesel to other unclean fuels sometimes still seen in use. When combusted, these would release pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and sulfur dioxide (SO₂), both of which can contribute to instances of acid rain, as well as being highly irritating to the lining of the lungs and airways. Furthermore, the various oxides of nitrogen (NOx) released from vehicles and other combustion sources can coalesce and convert into ozone (O₃) if exposed to enough solar radiation via sunlight.

Other pollutants found in the air would be ones such as black carbon and volatile organic compounds (VOC's), both of which find their release from the incomplete combustion of both fossil fuels and organic material. Black carbon is damaging to the environment as well as highly carcinogenic when inhaled. Some examples of VOC's include chemicals such as toluene, methylene chloride, formaldehyde and benzene, all of which present a great risk to human health and are extremely easy to respire, due to their volatile nature causing them to maintain a gaseous state at much lower temperatures.