Bucharest sees spike in air pollution levels over the weekend

Bucharest has recorded worrying air pollution levels over the weekend. The independent air quality monitoring network Airly.eu registered significant particulate matter PM 2.5 and PM 10 pollution levels in Bucharest at around 21:00 on Saturday. Almost all the sensors were colored red, yellow, or orange, indicating high levels for the two pollutants (of even 400% over the maximum allowed and the safe limit for the population), according to Hotnews.ro.

The URAD Monitor and Aerlive.ro sensors also recorded worrying pollution levels on Saturday night.

The network of the Ministry of Environment also registered spikes in air pollution, but on Saturday night, only one of the eight stations in Bucharest recorded high pollution levels for PM 2.5 and three for PM 10. Things returned to normal on Sunday morning.

The National Environmental Guard said that, on the nights of Friday to Saturday and of Saturday to Sunday, teams from Bucharest and Ilfov county carried out controls in the areas where the air quality measuring sensors showed spikes in pollution levels - Militari, Bragadiru, Rahova, and Colentina. Following these checks, one of the teams identified a “possible source of pollution,” namely a smelter that “did not operate during the inspection, but for which a sanction had previously been applied.”

Teams of the Environmental Guard also carried out inspections to monitor the situation and identify possible uncontrolled or illegal burns around Bucharest, the Environment Ministry said, adding that no incidents affecting air quality had been reported.

A report released earlier this month said that, in Bucharest, the annual cost of air pollution is EUR 6.3 billion - the second-highest after London (EUR 11.4 billion). The per capita cost in the Romanian capital is slightly over EUR 3,000.

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