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The advantage is the ruggedness of the terrain, the windiness of the area, the average annual temperature, or less frequent inversions. However, the rate of use of individual car transport is constantly increasing, and the heating of households with solid fuel is also increasing in connection with the recent energy crisis. It has affected the countries of the European Union, including Slovakia, which is starting to manifest itself mainly in the increase in the consumption of firewood and, unfortunately, also in the incineration of waste.

TTSK is no exception in this. This is also evidenced by the fact that, as part of the annual assessment of air quality, the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMI) did not define the so-called areas of air quality management on the basis of exceeded measured data, however, in the given territory identified risky municipalities through mathematical modeling. According to an expert estimate, a total of 17 risky municipalities were identified in the Trnava region with risk level 2 or 1. Risk level 3, which is the worst in the evaluation, is not located in the territory of the TTSK. These are also reasons why we should not be satisfied with the current state of affairs. The main goal is to maintain air quality in places where it is good and to improve it in places where it is worse. No level of pollution can be considered safe for health and the environment.

As part of the National Air Quality Monitoring Network (NMSKO), there are 52 stationary automatic monitoring stations located on the territory of Slovakia, and the network is complemented by several mobile ones. In the zone of the Trnava region, the air quality is continuously monitored through 4 such stations. Stationary stations are located in the cities of Trnava, Senica and Sereď. The last fourth station is located in the village of Topoľníky.

The number of monitoring stations was expanded thanks to the implemented project Improving the National Air Quality Monitoring Network (SNMSKO) from OP KŽP (Operational Program for Environmental Quality). As part of the project, new stationary automatic monitoring stations (AMS) and mobile monitoring stations were procured. Mobile automatic air quality monitoring stations are not part of the NMSKO network and are used for indicative measurement, which, compared to permanent measurement, meets less strict data quality objectives, but purposefully detects the causes of air problems in a given location. Indicative measurement of air quality must be divided within the year so that the measurements represent different conditions of climate and human activity. It can go one of two ways: either a random day of the week is chosen evenly throughout the year, or eight weeks evenly distributed throughout the year.

Currently, one such mobile AMS of air quality is also located in the city of Piešťany, near the city market near the central parking lot on Nálepková Street. An indicative measurement is taking place here in order to determine the air quality in the monitored area. The following pollutants are monitored: dust particles PM10, PM2.5, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide. Monitoring data is published on the official website of the SHMI under the name "Piešťany, mobile AMS".

The measurement of air quality in the city of Piešťany was managed thanks to the cooperation of the city of Piešťany, the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute and the LIFE IP project – Improving Air Quality. As part of the project, Katarína Mičáková and Marta Bejdáková work in the Trnava Region as air quality managers, and one of their tasks is to help municipalities solve air quality problems. They initiated the measurement in Piešťany on the basis of a working meeting that took place during 2021 with the management of the city of Piešťany. Based on the findings from the meeting, they defined the city as a potential air pollution hotspot, and in this sense also addressed a request for air quality monitoring to SHMI. They based their application on several findings:

• according to the Air Protection Act, a spa town is an area requiring special air protection,
• the city defined transport as the primary source of air pollution at the local level, while its claims were based on the TTSK Sustainable Mobility Plan (especially roads I/64 and II/499),
• local heating was defined as the second main source. In connection with local heating, the city registers a growing trend in the use of fireplaces and stoves, especially in new buildings. There are also several written complaints from citizens regarding the suspicion of an inappropriate heating method and exceeding the specified darkness of the smoke,
•  an initiative was also received from the so-called vulnerable population group,
• the nearest monitoring stations are located in Trnava, Senica and Nitra.

The evaluations of the European Environmental Agency and the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) show that air pollution still poses a danger to human health and the environment. In terms of environmental factors, air pollution is the main cause of premature death in Europe, with a significant impact on the economy. Health care costs increase and economic productivity decreases due to poor employee health. Air pollution also has a harmful effect on soil, crops, forests, lakes and rivers. Pollutants even damage our homes, bridges and other built infrastructure. It is no different in Slovakia. Heating homes with wood and coal is the biggest source of harmful pollutants. Unfortunately, the dispersion of these pollutants in the winter months is also hindered by worsened weather conditions (winter inversions, etc.).

One of the goals of a better understanding of air quality is to accurately identify the sources of pollution, that is, by the temporary measurement of pollutants released into the air, which is currently underway. Based on the results, the local government or responsible institutions and bodies can focus on targeted measures that, after implementation, will contribute to better protection of vulnerable groups of the population and achieve an improvement in air quality at the local level.