Air quality in Pancevo

What is the current level of air pollution in Pančevo?

Pančevo is a city and the administrative centre of the South Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It can be found on the banks of the River Tamis and also on the River Danube. According to a census conducted in 2011, Pančevo has an estimated population of approximately 125,000 residents, which ranks it as the ninth largest city in Serbia, by population numbers.

In the last quarter of 2021, Pančevo was experiencing a period of “Moderate” air quality with a US AQI reading of 73. This reading is often used as a reference point when comparing air quality in other cities around the world. Data is collected with regards to the six most prolific air pollutants commonly found and this figure is calculated from there. If information is not available for all six, then a figure can be deduced using the information that is available. In the case of Pančevo, four such figures were recorded. These were; PM2.5 - 22.5 µg/m³, PM10 - 24.4 µg/m³, ozone (O₃) - 7.3 µg/m³ and sulphur dioxide (SO₂) - 9.2 µg/m³. The level of PM2.5 can be seen to be over twice as high as the suggested level of 10 µg/m³. This level has been determined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as being an acceptable level of air pollution, although no level is to be considered as being safe.

When air quality is in the “Moderate” classification, the given advice would be to stay indoors as much as possible and close all doors and windows to prevent more polluted air from entering the rooms. Those people of a sensitive disposition should take extra care when venturing outside and should wear a quality mask if it is unavoidable. There is a downloadable app from AirVisual which shows the air quality in real-time. This information should help you decide what to do.

Does the air quality remain the same in Pančevo, throughout the year?

Air quality can be very volatile and change quickly because many variables affect it. Looking back at the figures for 2020, published by IQAir.com, it can easily be seen that January provided the worst air quality with a reading of 68.4 µg/m³. This places it in the “Unhealthy” category with figures between 55.5 and 150.4 µg/m³. The months of February to May and October to December brought “Moderate” air quality with figures between 12.1 and 35.4 µg/m³. July and August saw “Good” quality air with 10.2 and 10.7 µg/m³, respectively. The remaining two months of June and September saw figures below the WHO target level of 10 µg/m³, with 7.8 and 6.9 µg/m³, respectively.

There were no records kept regarding air quality before 2020 when a figure of 24.5 µg/m³ was noted. However, this figure may not be a true reflection of reality because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many motorists were no longer required to commute to their offices each day in an attempt to halt the spread of the virus. There were also some factories and similar production units which were told to close on a temporary basis. Many cities throughout the world noted how much cleaner their city air was because of these measures.

Is there a main source of air pollution in Pančevo?

The air of Pančevo is still mostly polluted by industry, individual furnaces and traffic emissions. However, air pollution is highest during the heating season, when there is an increase in the concentrations of suspended particles PM10 and PM2.5. The values of these air pollutants are then up to five times higher than allowed, and the main reason for that is the smoke that is released during the combustion of coal, wood and fuel oil.

What can be done to improve air quality in Pančevo?

Heating with solid fuels is not environmentally friendly, and the city of Pančevo is applying a subsidy measure for the gas connection, in order to increase the number of households that heat with a clean energy source - natural gas, which does not pollute the environment.

Instead of coal, the sale of fuel made from biomass (briquettes, pellets) should be encouraged, and raising the price of fossil fuels in order to reduce their use. The latter, however, may prove to be rather unpopular.

Studies show that planting trees reduces pollution by one per cent. Even that small reduction has a big impact on health. Plants absorb pollution, and that definitely helps improve air quality.

In addition to a positive impact on health, cycling is the fastest, most flexible and most reliable way to get around the city. More cycle lanes are being established. Gardens on the roofs of buildings - plants reduce carbon dioxide emissions. There are many reasons why plants should be grown. In addition to cleaning the air, green areas make people more relaxed and the place to live in becomes more beautiful.

What are some of the detrimental affects on human health from polluted air?

When exposed to pollution, people with heart disease can experience chest pain, short and shallow breathing, coughing, and pollution can increase susceptibility to respiratory infections. Pollution is associated with an increased mortality rate in patients with cardiovascular and coronary respiratory diseases. Long-term exposure to increased concentrations of soot can lead to the appearance of lung and respiratory cancers.

As a consequence of short-term exposure to polluted air, healthy people also develop symptoms such as irritation of the mucous membranes of the eyes, nasal cavity and throat, coughing, tightness in the chest, and difficulty breathing. These symptoms occur temporarily and disappear when the air quality improves.

Children are more likely to be exposed to polluted air, because they often spend more time outdoors, participate in various activities and games, while inhaling more air per kilogram of body weight compared to adults. Children are also more sensitive to air pollution than adults, since their airways are still in the development phase. In addition, children are more likely to develop asthma than adults, which further increases the risk.

People who have a disease of the lungs and respiratory organs (including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) will not be able to breathe deeply and strongly as they normally do when the air is not polluted. These people may experience symptoms such as cough, chest pain, shortness of breath and fatigue.