Clean Air Day: Republic of Moldova, one of the most polluted countries in Europe
Today the world community marks the International Clean Air Day. But it is curious that this is celebrated in one of the most polluted months of the year. According to the specialists, in September, January and July, for years already, the permissible limits of pollutants in the atmosphere have been exceeded several times. Moreover, according to the 2021 edition of the “Air Quality and Life Index” report, the Republic of Moldova is one of the most polluted countries in Europe, the main cause being the burning of fossil fuels. At the same time, specialists sound the alarm, after our country was recently affected by a cloud of Saharan dust.
Polluted air has a lot of negative effects on health. In order to keep the situation under control, it is tested every day by the Environmental Agency, the degree of pollution being determined with the help of special filters. According to the data, in the last six months, the air in Chisinau was polluted in 129 days, when an increased concentration of nitrogen dioxide and formic aldehyde is found. At the same time, the main cause of pollution are exhaust gases, emitted by the large number of cars in traffic.
“Practically 90 or so percent of the emission pollution comes from transport. Then the fixed sources of pollution, these are thermal power plants, these are different economic agents of industrial activity and, finally, we also have cross-border pollution, i.e. mass transport”.
Six mini stations operate in the capital, located in crowded and less demanding locations. Specialists claim that, recently, air quality was also affected by the Saharan dust cloud that crossed the territory of the Republic of Moldova.
“Starting with the data of August 26, in the afternoon of the day, the values began to increase, they were recorded for PM10 particles and on this day we had an increase in the limit, which is 50 micrograms limited value. 65 average was recorded for day 26”.
In order to detect the most polluted areas in the capital, the Environment Agency produces daily bulletins and maps on atmospheric air quality. Here is what the map of Chisinau shows for yesterday.
“In this situation, according to the legend, the level of nitrogen dioxide was exceeded on the street Calea Ieșilor, Fântânilor and Grenoble.”
The townspeople we talked to told us that they feel on their own skin when the air is polluted. According to them, people themselves are to blame for what is happening to our atmosphere:
“The city is overcrowded, there are a lot of cars. Secondly, many forests are being deforested and thirdly, basically, people don’t really respect cleanliness”.
“I think the last time we had clean air was in the 40s and 50s, but not now when we have so many cars, so much transport, so I don’t think we have clean air.”
“If we compare and go outside Chisinau, the difference between the air that is in Chisinau and outside Chisinau is felt very well.”
At the same time, people propose solutions, being aware that change starts with each of us:
“Firstly, we need to plant more trees, secondly – there should be some fines for littering, and with the rabbit, by the way, there should be a solution for the garbage to be recycled in another way . “.
“A tree to plant, cleanliness, in every way, and then we will live in a clean world. It depends on the person, on the person’s conscience, how much he cares about the piece of land he lives on”.
Currently, the air quality monitoring network covers the municipalities of Chisinau and Balti and also has data from the stations in Tiraspol, Rîbnița and Bender.