News

In connection with the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) process, a public hearing was held on 12 February 2025 on the draft Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP) for the Banská Bystrica region (BBSK) and the Strategic Document Assessment Report.

In connection with the assessment of the impacts of strategic documents on the environment (SEA), a public discussion of the Report on the Assessment and Proposal of the Air Quality Improvement Program (PZKO) for the Košice agglomeration and the Košice Region zone was held on February 4, 2025.

The Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute informs about the air quality forecasting service. The data is available through the CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service). The forecast products also include forecasts of natural dust concentrations. This is mostly dust from deserts or semi-deserts - in Slovakia it is the most frequently occurring "Saharan dust".

At the end of November, a unique experiment was carried out in the Trnava region, in the small village of Blahová. For the first time in Slovakia, a drone was used to measure air pollution, which represents a revolutionary step in air quality monitoring. The experiment was carried out in cooperation with the Populair project, the UAVONIC company and the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute. The measurements focused on investigating the impact of heating on air quality, which is a very topical problem in Slovakia, especially in the winter months.

Every year on 7th September we celebrate the International Day of Clean Air for blue skies. This year's campaign slogan is "Invest in #CleanAirNow" from the English original "Invest in #CleanAirNow". It highlights the urgent need for stronger partnerships, increased investment and shared responsibility in the fight against air pollution.

In the Žilina Region, a meeting was organized for municipalities to prepare the Air Quality Improvement Program, which was prepared by the District Office in the regional headquarters together with the Slovak Environment Agency and the Žilina Self-Governing Region.

In May, the Slovak Environment Agency, in cooperation with the Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic and other partners of the LIFE IP - Air Quality Improvement project, organized three regional workshops focused on air quality for representatives of local governments from the Košice, Žilina and Banskobystrica self-governing regions (KSK, ŽSK,BBSK).

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the incidence of asthma has doubled in the last 10 years. According to WHO estimates, about 300 million people worldwide suffer from asthma, and by 2025 it will be 100 million more. We remember the problems of people with asthma this year on May 7 on World Asthma Day.

In connection with air quality, the Trnava Self-Governing Region (TTSK) is one of the less problematic areas, as the air quality here is not significantly affected by large local sources of pollution. At the same time, the nature itself ensures a better atmosphere compared to the rest of Slovakia.

Trees have the ability to absorb and reduce pollutants from the air. This process allows trees and other plants to absorb, capture and neutralize harmful substances such as nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, dust particles, heavy metals and others. Certain types of trees have specific properties for ridding the air of pollutants. For example, maples, oaks, lindens, firs and spruces can effectively trap solid particles and dust, while catalpas are able to absorb nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides with their large leaves.