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A mobile measuring station, Source: Municipality of Budapest

Budapest significantly boosts its efforts to monitor air quality

Budapest significantly boosts its efforts to monitor air quality

The Hungarian capital will monitor the levels of air pollution in four new locations

In recent years, cities all over the world have begun searching for ways to become cleaner and greener. Taking a case in point, the Municipality of Budapest is currently investigating the air quality in the city. According to the municipality, urban air pollution is the biggest risk to public health in Europe and a major environmental problem in the Hungarian capital city.

Expanding a current environmental project

With this in mind, Budapest previously installed 12 measuring stations to assess the quality of air. After receiving numerous inquiries from citizens and various organisations, the municipality has now expanded this project. More specifically, it will investigate 4 more locations over the following 8 months, namely Ferencváros, Erzsébetváros, Újbuda and Margaret Island.

The air in these locations will be assessed using the same method employed by the city’s permanent measuring stations. With the extension of the project, the municipality seeks to find out whether the 12 stations are located in suitable places and if there is an area where air pollution is higher than records currently show. In the case of exceptionally high pollution, the Mayor of Budapest will also be required to take action by ordering a so-called “smog alarm”.

Alarming findings

Calculations by the National Centre for Public Health have reportedly found that small particulate matter pollution has been responsible for 3-7% of premature deaths in people over the age of 30 in the past decade. What is worse, in 80% of deaths attributable to air pollution, people have suffered inadequate blood supply to the heart muscle, ischemic heart disease, or stroke. These causes are closely followed by lung disease and lung cancer.

Taking this alarming data into account, the Municipality of Budapest is keen to improve air quality in the capital. The National Meteorological Service will perform the investigations on the city’s behalf, and the entire project will cost HUF 10,920,000 (EUR 30,891).

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