Environment Ministry plans shift to real-time air quality reporting in Romania

The Romanian Environment Ministry has launched a public consultation on changes to national air quality regulations that would allow residents to see real-time pollution levels, replacing the current system based on 24-hour averages. The draft order updates Order 1818/2020, which defines how air quality indices are calculated and reported nationwide.

Environment minister Diana Buzoianu said the reform is essential for public health and for aligning Romania with European standards.

“A few weeks ago, while in three neighborhoods of Bucharest you could barely breathe on the street because of a warehouse fire, all the official sensors were showing green. Why? Because they currently measure the average pollutant levels over the past 24 hours - as the technical norms were set many years ago. But people look at these data to find out what air they are breathing at that moment,” the minister said.

“Today we released the amendment to the Environment Ministry order for public consultation precisely so that, in the future, hourly averages will be used instead of 24-hour ones. Hourly data, based on methodologies harmonized at the European Union level, allow us to react more quickly and more effectively in protecting public health,” she added.

The proposed changes include replacing 24-hour averages with hourly index calculations and updating concentration ranges for major pollutants, namely PM2.5, PM10, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and sulfur dioxide, according to the revised European Air Quality Index. Plus, there will be clear health messages corresponding to each risk level.

Once the regulation is adopted, Romania’s official air quality monitoring platform will be upgraded to display live hourly pollution data, the ministry said.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea)