Pancevo air quality map

How much interesting information about air quality can be found on the air pollution map for Pancevo?

There is a lot of fascinating material about air quality on the air pollution map for Pancevo and it is really easy to find. The pollution map on the main city page acts like a link, so once selected, a new page will open filled with all available facts and figures.

When this page reopens, the viewer will see a strong colouration of the background which is a visual way of showing the current air quality. Colours vary between pale green and dark maroon and are used as a standard across the whole of the IQAir website. As the air quality worsens, so the colours get darker. Their full meaning is shown in the legend at the bottom of the page. The colour at present is greenish/yellow which shows the air quality as being “Moderate”.

There are many coloured discs on the map with most of them being near Belgrade but there are some over Pancevo. These discs show the locations of the ground-level air monitoring stations there are that provide the city with information about air quality. Each of these discs displays a number at its centre which is the United States Air Quality Index reading or US AQI for short. This figure is calculated by measuring up to six of the most prolific pollutants found in the city air. These are usually both sizes of Particulate Matter (PM2.5 and PM10), ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide. If the discs are overlapping each other and difficult to see, the map can be slightly expanded which should begin to separate them and make them easier to see.

This US AQI number is used as a standard when comparing air quality in different areas across the world and the whole system has the backing of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Each station can be individually selected and explored further because they all contain a lot of information about their own specific areas. These figures are regularly updated and are really useful if travelling around the area.

Looking back at the main city page, it can be seen in the coloured banner across the top of it that the current air quality is “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” with a US AQI reading of 115. The orange colour of the banner also suggests this poor-quality level. Four of the main pollutants were measured but it is PM2.5 that is considered to be the main one. It had a recorded level of 41.2 µg/m³ (microns per cubic metre) which is over eight times the suggested target figure of 5 µg/m³ as recommended by the WHO.

Below the air pollution map for Pancevo is shown the number of contributors there are that provide the city with its air quality data and the number of stations they operate. At the time of writing in April 2023, there were two stations which were both operated by the Serbia National Network Air Quality Monitoring which is a government organisation which operates a total of 65 stations throughout the country.

Does the air pollution map for Pancevo have any more information about air quality in the region?

There is an icon at the top right-hand side of the first page that will reopen itself at maximum size when selected. In this way, no information will be hidden from view.

A list of four options will appear down the left-hand side of the screen which can all be toggled on or off to see the full effects they each have on the map.

The first option shows the positions of all the ground-level air monitoring stations in the vicinity, although they are not all under the jurisdiction of the city.

The second option reveals the sites of any wildfires there are that happen to be burning in the region. The air pollution map for Pancevo showed no trace of fires at the end of April 2023. If fires are detected then option number four needs to be checked because it shows the speed and direction of the prevailing winds and will possibly show where the smoke from the fire may drift.

The third option changes the colour of the map to reflect the current air quality. When the quality is poor, the colours will be dark and might make the map difficult to understand. In this case, it can be deactivated so the colours will revert to a more natural hue.

Looking across to the right-hand side of the page will be seen the World AQI Ranking where the top most heavily polluted cities are ranked according to their levels of air pollution. More statistics are available in the full-ranking section where the remainder of the participating world cities will be listed in descending order of cleanliness.

Directly below the contributors’ section can be seen a list which shows the stations that record the highest levels of air pollution. Currently, the most polluted area of the city is around the station at Pančevo Vatrogasni dom which shows a US AQI reading of 97 which is classed as being “Moderate”.

The section below this one reveals the most popular station according to the number of followers it has. The station at Pančevo Vatrogasni dom was the most popular with almost 28,000 loyal followers.

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

Factories, traffic emissions and individual combustion plants are the main reasons for poor air quality. And while documents and strategies are being written and implemented, citizens remain witnesses to frequent pollution peaks and environmental incidents in a city where pollution has been present for many years.

Recorded elevated values of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide in the air are a direct result of the polluted air in and around the city.

PM2.5 and PM10 are often quoted on the air pollution map for Pancevo, but what are they?

The biggest damage to health is caused by the so-called particulate pollution, which is monitored by measuring the concentration of fine PM10 and PM2.5 particles in the air. The number next to the abbreviation PM indicates the size of the particle - PM10 is 10 micrometres or less and PM2.5 is 2.5 micrometres or less. Because they are so small, when inhaled, these particles enter the bloodstream through the lung alveoli and cause damage to the lungs and heart, and can also lead to malignant diseases.