Illustrative photo – The photo from April 30, 2018 shows pollen being carried by the air from the forests near Hosov in Jihlavsk.
Prague – Air quality in the Czech Republic remained good last year despite the fact that some people returned to cheaper methods of heating due to high energy costs. Concentrations of air pollutants, with the exception of ground-level ozone, reached the lowest or second lowest values since 2011. This was mainly helped by favorable meteorological conditions at the beginning of last year. In some municipalities, however, experts have noted a deterioration in the quality of household heating in connection with the energy crisis. The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (ČHMÚ) stated this in a preliminary report today.
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In 2022, the annual average concentrations of cancer-causing benzo(a)pyrene exceeded the immission limit at roughly 38 percent of the stations, i.e. at 19 of the total number of 52 stations with a sufficient number of measurements for evaluation. These data are similar to the previous two years.
“The highest annual average concentrations of benzo(a)pyrene have been recorded for a long time at all types of stations in the majority of the Moravian-Silesian region,” said Václav Novák from the air quality information system department of the ČHMÚ. Outside of North Moravia, according to him, the concentration of benzo(a)pyrene is also higher every year at the Kladno-Švermov station. According to the ČHMÚ, exceeding limit values can also be expected in other municipalities with a higher proportion of household heating with solid fuels, which are the main source of benzo(a)pyrene in the air.
Thanks to very favorable meteorological conditions at the beginning of last year, measuring stations recorded a decrease in benzo(a)pyrene concentrations in January and February. “In March and November, benzo(a)pyrene concentrations increased to the level of ten-year averages, similar to the case of PM particles, which points to increased emissions from local heating. However, very atypical favorable meteorological conditions at the beginning of the year significantly affected the year-round values of benzo(a)pyrene concentrations )pyrene, and thus contributed to the fact that we assess the annual average concentrations of benzo(a)pyrene on a nationwide scale in 2022 as the lowest during the monitoring period,” noted Novák.
Exchange also contributes to the improvement of air quality in the long term of boilers in households and the transition to alternative methods of heating households. According to the ČHMÚ, this probably mitigated the impact of the energy crisis on air quality.
The ČHMÚ already pointed out last year that the air quality in connection with the energy crisis could decrease in the Czech Republic. However, according to the current report, household heating has not deteriorated to such an extent that it has led to a significant decrease in air quality.
