Air quality in Lipe

What is the air pollution forecast for Lipe?

Lipe has shown some higher levels of air pollution over the past few years, and much like the rest of the country, continues to be subject to these elevations in pollution clouds and fine particles, which can affect the health of a large part of the population, particularly amongst vulnerable individuals. In June of 2021, Lipe was seen with a US AQI reading of 65, and with a PM2.5 concentration that is double of the world health organization's (WHO's) recommendation of exposure.

US AQI is a figure that is aggregated from the volume of the several main pollutants found in the air throughout Lipe and Serbia. Emanating from a number of similar polluting sources. These include ones such as the two types of particle pollution, PM2.5 and PM10.

Out of both of these, PM2.5 is the far more dangerous particle, coming in at 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter. This is roughly 30% the width of a human hair, with sizes going down to many microns smaller in some cases, as well as being comprised of many different harmful materials. As a result, PM2.5 is used as a prominent measure of air pollution in its own right, and will be used to discuss monthly readings from years past, as well as the yearly pollution average reading for Lipe.

Further US AQI readings that came in over June of 2021 in Lipe included figures going up to as high as 81, putting it into the higher end of the 'moderate' ratings bracket, color coded as yellow and requiring a US AQI reading of anywhere between 51 and 100. Lows of 19 and 20 were also recorded, placing Lipe into the ‘good’ air quality ratings bracket in late May. This is color coded as green and requires a US AQI reading of 0 to 50 for classification. Of note is that based on pollution readings from years past, the months of May and June tends to have cleaner air quality, and as such these US AQI readings may not be fully indicative of how heavy the pollution levels can get under worse circumstances.

Moderate readings of air pollution, such as the figures of 65 and 81 mentioned above, may not present any noticeable symptoms amongst the general population, who can largely go about their day as normal. However, certain vulnerable individuals may start to experience mild respiratory distress. People who fall into this demographic include individuals such as young children, the elderly, pregnant women, as well as those with pre-existing health conditions (particularly of the pulmonary or cardiac variety).

As such, the use of air quality maps such as the one present on this page, as well as on the AirVisual app are highly recommended in their use, with hourly updates being available for those who wish to stay up to date and adjust their activities to reduce exposure accordingly.

What health risks come with elevated pollution levels in Lipe?

Whilst some of the US AQI readings were discussed in the previous question, it must be mentioned that over the course of 2020, Lipe came in with a PM2.5 yearly average of 26.4 μg/m³. This placed it in 507^th place out of all cities ranked worldwide in 2020, as well as placing it into the 'moderate' pollutions rating bracket, which when taken from the PM2.5 perspective, requires a reading anywhere between 12.1 to 35.4 μg/m³ to be classified as such.

With a high ranking on the global circuit, as well as certain months coming in with higher levels of air pollution, there would be a number of related health ailments. These would be ones such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a collection of respiratory illnesses that includes ones such as pneumonia, bronchitis, emphysema and asthma. Irritation to the skin can occur, causing rashes and other breakouts, with cases of acne, psoriasis, eczema and atopic dermatitis all being possible.

Other health issues that would arise would be irritation to the mucous membranes, with the eyes, ears, nose and mouth all being affected. Scarring and inflammation of the lung tissue can also occur upon inhaling certain pollutants, with ones such as ozone and nitrogen dioxide having prominent inflammatory effects, along with finely ground particles being able to cause scarification of the lung tissue. This can lead to a reduction in full lung function, and an increased disposition towards developing infections of the respiratory tract.

Heart attacks, ischemic heart disease, strokes and even death may occur as a result of excessive pollution exposure.

What pollutants are found in the air in Lipe?

The main pollutants that would be found in the air in Lipe would be the ones that go into calculating the US AQI level. These are nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), ozone (O₃) and sulfur dioxide (SO₂), along with both PM10 and PM2.5.

Other pollutants would be ones such as mercury and lead, along with other heavy or toxic metals that can be released as a byproduct of certain combustion processes or part of industrial effluence leaked by factories or construction sites with low quality control. Finely ground silica particles would make up some of the more dangerous particulate matter collective, along with black carbon and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), both of which are created via the combustion of organic matter and fossil fuels.

When is the air unsafe to breathe in Lipe?

Looking at the data gathered over the course of 2020, it can be seen that whilst there was a certain amount of data missing from the beginning of the year (due to PM2.5 levels that have not been calibrated properly often being omitted to avoid statistical inaccuracies), there was a distinct rise in PM2.5 towards the end of the year, starting from October through to December.

These months came in with readings of 33.4 μg/m³, 62.3 μg/m³ and 39.3 μg/m³ respectively, making November the most polluted month of the year by a significant amount, sitting in the ‘unhealthy’ ratings bracket at 55.5 μg/m³ and beyond being required.

When is the air safer to breathe in Lipe?

The months of May through to September presented with PM2.5 levels that indicate that the air quality would be relatively cleaner, free from the more pervasive clouds of haze, particle pollution and smoke. Whilst all of these months came in on the lower end of the 'moderate' ratings bracket, June presented as the cleanest month with a PM2.5 reading of 12.9 μg/m³, making it only 0.9 units away from being moved into the ‘good’ air quality ratings bracket.