Main article: Ecology in the world
2024: Huge atmosphere cleaning factory launched in Iceland for hundreds of millions of euros
Swiss start-up Climeworks has launched the world's largest carbon dioxide-absorbing factory. This was announced on May 9, 2024 by The Wall Street Journal. Read more here.
2023
Harmful emissions of enterprises and transport in Russia for the year decreased to a 5-year minimum. Regions
On July 10, 2024, it became known that in 2023, emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere from enterprises and transport in Russia reached a five-year minimum, amounting to 21.98 million tons. The decrease by 1%, or 229.2 thousand tons, compared to 2022, was the result of active efforts to protect the environment and modernize production facilities. This is evidenced by the data of the analytical service of the audit and consulting network FinExpertiza.
Emissions reduction affected both industrial enterprises and transport. The largest reduction in emissions was recorded in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug (-22.7%), Volgograd Region (-15.9%), Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (-14.5%) and Kurgan Region (-12.7%). These regions were able to significantly improve the environmental situation thanks to the introduction of modern technologies and strict control over compliance with environmental standards.
At the same time, a number of regions saw an increase in emissions. The most significant increase occurred in the Kaluga region (+ 44.7%), Sakhalin region (+ 28.4%) and the Republic of Mari El (+ 23.7%). These regions continue to face environmental challenges, which requires additional measures to reduce the harmful impact on the environment.
The largest amount of emissions per capita was recorded in the Yamalo-Nenets (1.76 tons per person) and Nenets (1.66 tons per person) autonomous districts, which is associated with a high concentration of the oil and gas industry and low population density. In the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug and the Kemerovo Region, high emissions per person are also observed.
Minimum emissions per capita were recorded in Dagestan (17.6 kg per person), Kabardino-Balkaria (21.8 kg) and Sevastopol (27.7 kg). These regions are characterized by low industrialization and more environmentally friendly types of economic activity.[1]
An eco-program worth billions of dollars failed. Harmful emissions of Microsoft in 3 years increased by 30%
In 2023, harmful emissions from the company Microsoft increased by almost 30% compared to three years ago. Thus, we can talk about the failure of the environmental program, on which American the manufacturer ON spends billions. dollars More. here
Anti-rating of the world's cities with the dirtiest air came out
On October 23, 2023, the Swiss company IQ Air announced that the Indian capital New Delhi recorded the world's highest air pollutant content. This is due to the seasonal burning of crop waste in suburban areas, harmful emissions from a huge number of vehicles, construction work and the activities of coal-fired power plants.
New Delhi's air quality index jumped to 346 (the larger the figure, the worse the air quality), the highest among the 110 cities in the world that IQ Air tracks. For comparison: in Mumbai, the indicator was recorded at 177. In the Indian capital, the concentration of fine particulate matter is 296 micrograms per cubic meter of air. This is almost 20 times the safe figures recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). A University of Chicago study suggests that dirty air reduces life expectancy for Indians by an average of 5.3 years. The New Delhi Institute of power and Resources notes that pollutants dissipate poorly due to weak wind strength and lower temperatures.
As of October 24, 2023, poor air quality was registered in Dubai (UAE) - index 184. A similar situation is observed in Beijing (China), where an indicator of 183 was recorded. In Hanoi (Vietnam), a value of 171 was noted. In Russia, by the specified date, the average air quality was observed in Krasnoyarsk: the index was recorded at around 58.
As for the cleanest cities, they included Vancouver (Canada), Melbourne (Australia) and Algeria, where the value is 14, 16 and 17, respectively. In Moscow, according to IQ Air, air quality is also at a high level - an estimate of 20.[2]
Unified register of greenhouse gas emissions launched in Russia
On June 1, 2023, a register of greenhouse gas emissions was launched in Russia. It will allow automatic collection of reports of industrial enterprises emitting more than 150 thousand tons of SO2 per year, the press service of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation reported. Read more here.
2022
The number of cases of high air pollution in Russia has halved
In 2022, 209 cases of high and extremely high air pollution were recorded in Russia, which is half as much as a year earlier. Such data, citing statistics from Roshydromet, were provided by FinExpertiza analysts on May 15, 2023.
The number of high atmospheric pollution in the Russian Federation decreased due to a decrease in the number of incidents in Norilsk. If in 2021, after the installation of new automated air quality control systems, the number of recorded incidents increased sharply, then in 2022 the negative impact on the atmosphere from local enterprises decreased to a minimum.
It is clarified that in 2022, 201 cases of high and 8 cases of extremely high air pollution were detected in Russia. This is 214 cases, or two times less than in 2021, when the number of environmental incidents was a record, and 122 cases, or 37% less than in the pandemic 2020. In the dock years, atmospheric pollution was recorded much less often, but this was primarily due to the lack of a sufficient number of automated observation points, which began to be actively introduced only in the last 2-3 years, according to the FinExpertiza report.
Benzpyrene and hydrogen sulfide were most often pollutants, and cases of pollution with suspended solids, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide were also observed. In addition, a number of contaminants were recorded according to organoleptic signs.
Extremely high pollution (EVZ) implies an excess of the maximum permissible concentration of substances by 20-29 times while maintaining this level for more than two days, or by 30-49 times while maintaining for eight hours or more, or by 50 or more times with a one-time excess. Extremely high pollution can be combined with visual and organoleptic signs, such as the appearance of a stable, unusual given area and odor season, the sharp effect of air on the human senses, the fall of tinted rains and other atmospheric precipitation, the appearance of precipitation of a specific smell or unusual taste. High and extremely high pollution can cause significant harm to the environment and human health.[3]
Regions of Russia with the dirtiest air
In February 2022, Rosprirodnadzor named the regions with the dirtiest air. The worst situation is in the Krasnoyarsk Territory due to the high level of emissions in Norilsk.
As the head of Rosprirodnadzor Svetlana Radionova told RBC, the volume of emissions into the atmosphere of the Krasnoyarsk Territory is 1.8 million tons per year (11% of emissions in Russia), or 30 thousand cars.
 | These are only posted inventory objects. But, in our opinion, the inventory and calculation methods are not entirely correct, she clarified. |  |
The first place in the list of cities with the dirtiest air was taken by Norilsk. In the second position - Cherepovets in the Vologda region (there the volume of emissions into the atmosphere is 280 thousand tons, this is 1.7% of all emissions in Russia). Closes the top three Novokuznetsk in the Kemerovo region (278 thousand tons, 1.6%).
Speaking about the situation in terms of the number of harm calculations made for 2020-2022, Svetlana Radionova noted that the most polluted territories of Russia were the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug, Krasnodar and Primorsky Territories. This is followed by the Astrakhan and Yaroslavl regions, the Trans-Baikal Territory, the Irkutsk Region and the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
The department monitoring the environment in the country said that when compiling a list of clean and dirty cities, not only emissions into the atmosphere, but also soil and water pollution were taken into account. Each region has its own feature. For example, there are problems on the Volga coast, on the Don and on the Angara.
At the end of January 2022, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of Russia proposed introducing negotiable fines for disrupting an experiment to quota emissions of harmful substances. According to amendments to the law, enterprises will have to pay a fine if they do not provide information for air pollution calculations and proposals for emission quotas.[4]
2021
Ranking of countries with the dirtiest air - Greenpeace and AirVisual
In March 2022, Greenpeace, in collaboration with the development company AirVisual, compiled an annual rating of the countries of Europe and the world with the cleanest air. Things are worst in Bangladesh.
Air pollution is considered one of the world's largest environmental health threats, accounting for about 7 million deaths worldwide annually. Air pollution causes and exacerbates many diseases ranging from asthma to cancer, lung disease and heart disease. The daily economic damage from air pollution is estimated at $8 billion, which is from 3 to 4% of the world's GDP.
Air pollution affects the most vulnerable. It is estimated that in 2021, about 40,000 children under the age of five died as a result of PM2.5 air pollution. The researchers also found that exposure to PM2.5 particles increases both the risk of contracting COVID-19 and the risk of more severe symptoms, including death.
Data collected from studies over the past 20 years have more clearly quantified the severity of the effects of air pollution on human health, which has been found to have been significantly underestimated before. A systematic 2019 analysis of the global burden of disease found that air pollution, from both internal and external sources, caused approximately 12% of deaths in 2019, placing it fourth among the major risk factors for global disease and mortality.
The results of the most recent studies quantifying the correlation between air pollution levels and adverse health risks have shown that exposure to even low levels of air pollution can lead to harmful health effects, and concluded that there is no level at which exposure to PM2.5 can be considered safe.
Recognizing the significant nature of global health impacts of air pollution and the non-trivial risk of adverse effects at low pollution concentrations, the recommended level of annual regulation PM2.5 for 2021 was halved, bringing the 2005 level of 10 mkg/m³ to 5 mkg/m³. In many regions of the world with very high concentrations of air pollution, it is not possible to achieve this standard. For such cases, phased targets of mkg/m³ 10, 15, 25 and 35 were recommended for use in developing plans to reduce air pollution in heavily polluted regions that could be implemented within a reasonable time frame.
10 Worst Air Pollution Countries - Exposure to PM2.5 (mkg/m³):
- Bangladesh - 76.9
- Chad - 75.9
- Pakistan - 66.8
- Tajikistan - 59.4
- India - 58.1
- Oman - 53.9
- Kyrgyzstan - 50.8
- Bahrain - 49.8
- Iraq - 49.7
- Nepal - 46.0
The concentration of PM2.5 in micrograms per cubic meter (mkg/m³) was selected as the standard metric for this report. PM2.5, - particulate matter composed of fine aerosol microparticles 2.5 microns in diameter or less - is one of six regularly measured criterion air pollutants and is generally considered to be the most harmful to human health due to its prevalence in the environment and a wide range of health effects.
PM2.5 is derived from many sources and may differ in chemical composition and physical characteristics. Common chemical components of PM2.5 include sulfates, nitrates, black carbon and ammonium. The most common anthropogenic sources include internal combustion engines, electricity generation, industrial processes, agricultural processes, construction, burning of wood and coal in residential buildings. The most common natural sources of PM2.5 are dust storms, sandstorms and forest fires.[5]
More than 90% of the world's population lives in areas where air quality indicators go beyond the WHO limits. And eco-monitoring stations tell in more detail about the composition of the air we breathe. A cocktail of poisonous gases may include ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfurous anhydride. All these substances are toxic, cause poisoning, irritate the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract and are indicators of measuring air pollution according to the WHO method. But fine particles with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5, or particle matter) have an even more destructive effect on our health, according to doctors. These microparticles easily penetrate the respiratory tract, and from there enter the blood. Half of all cases of lung cancer are associated precisely with the fact that residents of megacities constantly breathe dirty air filled with fine dust. But there are also less obvious consequences of the negative effects of PM2.5 on our health. Of the unexpected effects, doctors call the significantly increasing risk of cardiovascular, infectious and even mental illness.
Ultrafine particles can contain the smallest pieces of soot, asphalt, sulfates, nitrates, heavy metal compounds... According to the World Health Organization, the average daily level of PM2.5 should be no more than 25 μg/m3, but often exceeds this figure.
Rain, like strong winds, clears the air. But with the snow, everything is not so clear. A severe blizzard with wind can also slightly reduce the level of harmful impurities, but, contrary to popular belief, in winter the air is dirtier than in summer (heating, slow movement of cold air masses and less ability of impurities to dissipate above the cold surface are to blame). This is evidenced by the data of environmental monitoring stations - this winter 34% of "ideal days" were registered in Moscow, and 51% in the summer.
The number of air pollution in Russia for the year reached a 17-year maximum
In 2021, 406 cases of air pollution were recorded in Russia, which is 23% more than a year earlier. Such data analysts FinExpertiza released on February 7, 2022. In their work, they used the calculations of Roshydromet.
For the second year in a row, the number of detected pollution has demonstrated record values - now at least over the past 17 years. Since 2011, the number of cases of high and extremely high pollution has increased sixfold.
Most often, the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Samara, Orenburg and Irkutsk regions, as well as Buryatia, suffer from large-scale emissions into the atmosphere, the report says.
For 2021, 369 cases of high and 37 cases of extremely high air pollution were recorded in Russia, follows from the operational data of Roshydromet. This is 75 cases, or 23%, more than in 2020. Then, despite the lockdown and the decline in economic activity, a long-term anti-record was set for the number of pollution - 331 incidents.
High pollution means the content of one or more substances in the atmospheric air exceeding the maximum permissible concentration by 10 or more times. Extreme high pollution means an excess of the maximum permissible concentration of substances by 20-29 times while maintaining this level for more than two days, or by 30-49 times while maintaining this level from eight hours or more, or by 50 or more times with a one-time excess. Extremely high pollution is combined with visual and organoleptic signs, such as the appearance of a stable, unusual given area and odor season, the sharp impact of air on the human senses, the fall of tinted rains and other atmospheric precipitation, the appearance of precipitation with a specific smell or unusual taste. High and extremely high pollution can cause significant harm to the environment and human health.
Also during 2021, 25 cases of emergency pollution were recorded, which is twice as much as a year earlier. The causes of these incidents were mainly fires, depressurization or emissions as a result of equipment malfunction at production and storage sites, as well as natural fires. Fortunately, only one of these incidents resulted in high air pollution.[6]
Russia entered the top three countries in terms of carbon dioxide emissions
In early October 2021, Carbon Brief published the results of an analysis of the total amount of carbon dioxide emissions by countries since 1850. The study showed the states with the greatest historical responsibility for the climate emergency. Read more here.
2020
An increase in cases of extreme air pollution by 3.8 times in Russia, up to 243
In 2020, 243 cases of high and extremely high air pollution were registered in Russia, which is 3.8 times more than a year earlier. This is evidenced by the data of the audit and consulting network FinExpertiza.
| | 2020 became the worst in terms of the number of detected pollution in at least the last 16 years, twice the anti-record of 2010 - then 126 cases of high and extremely high air pollution were recorded, follows from the data of Roshydromet, - according to the study, a fragment of which is quoted by Vedomosti. | |
High pollution is a situation where the content of one or more harmful substances in the air exceeds the maximum permissible concentration by 10 or more times. Extreme - 20-29 times while maintaining this level for more than two days, or 30-49 times while maintaining this level from eight hours or more, or 50 or more times at a one-time excess.
The worst environmental situation has developed in the Samara region, which accounted for more than half of all incidents (147), as well as Buryatia, Trans-Baikal and Krasnoyarsk Territories, as well as in the Orenburg region.
The main poisonous element there was benzpyrene - "an extremely toxic combustion product of hydrocarbon fuel and carcinogen," as well as hydrogen sulfide, which is formed during oil refining, in sewer headers and as a result of burning landfills. In addition, lead, formaldehyde, ethylbenzene, hydrogen chloride, carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide were found in the atmosphere.
It is noted that high (more than 10 MPC) and extremely high (more than 30 MPC) air pollution, accompanied by the appearance of sharp suffocating odors and the fall of colored rains, can cause irreparable harm to the environment and human health.[7]
Regions with the dirtiest air in Russia named
As calculated in August 2020 by FinExpertiza, a resident of Russia accounts for about 155 kg of harmful emissions per year, this figure ranges from 23 kg to 1.6 tons, depending on the region.
According to absolute indicators of emissions into the atmosphere, the top 10 regions included:
- Krasnoyarsk Territory (2.6 million tons per year),
- Kemerovo region (1.8 million tons)
- Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug (1.3 million tons)
- Sverdlovsk region (1 million tons)
- Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (787.4 thousand tons)
- Irkutsk region (714.7 thousand tons)
- Bashkortostan (599.4 thousand tons)
- Chelyabinsk region (594.9 thousand tons)
- Orenburg region (551.4 thousand tons)
- Krasnodar Territory (495.3 thousand tons).
The most prosperous situation is observed in Sevastopol and Tuva (11.2 thousand tons each), as well as in the Altai Territory (13.4 thousand tons), Kalmykia (18.1 thousand tons),
Moscow ranks 16th among the regions in terms of harmful emissions, St. Petersburg - 35th place.
2018: Krasnoyarsk, Norilsk and Bratsk are the most unfavorable for the life of the city
The rating of the most environmentally unfavorable cities is headed by Krasnoyarsk, Norilsk and Bratsk. The most prosperous are Yoshkar-Ola, Tambov, Saransk. Moscow and St. Petersburg are somewhere in the middle of this list. But there is good news: the Clean Air project, part of the Ecology national project, promises that by 2024 in 12 large industrial cities of the Russian Federation harmful emissions into the atmosphere will decrease by 20%.
Notes
- ↑ Emissions of harmful substances into the air decreased to a five-year minimum
- ↑ Delhi Has World’s Most Toxic Air on Farm Fires and Lack of Wind
- ↑ The number of high air pollution in 2022 has halved
- ↑ The head of Rosprirodnadzor named the regions with the dirtiest air
- ↑ Interactive global map of 2021 PM2.5 concentrations by city
- ↑ Roshydromet recorded a record number of air pollution in 2021
- ↑ Russia has set an anti-record for air pollution for 16 years
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