News

Personal car transport greatly pollutes the air we breathe. Whether students have a short or long commute to school, choosing the right means of transport can have a positive impact on their health and air quality. Students from the Sídlisko II Elementary School in Vranov nad Topľou have seen this for themselves.

During March 2025, 4 educational seminars were held - Methodological days for teachers of the 2nd level of primary and secondary schools, which were held in the premises of the Regional Government Offices, specifically in Košice, Trenčín, Žilina and an introductory meeting in the premises of the Slovak Environmental Agency (SAŽP) in Banská Bystrica. During the first four meetings, 75 participants attended the methodological days. Further meetings with teachers will be organized in the autumn of this year and also next year.

In connection with the Environmental Impact Assessment (SEA) process and the Air Protection Act, a public hearing was held on March 11, 2025 on the draft Air Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) for the Nitra Region zone and the Strategic Document Evaluation Report.

In the locations of Gemerská Poloma, Dobšiná, Kozelník, Banská Belá and Banská Štiavnica, informative measurements of air pollution by ultrafine dust particles (UFP) were carried out at the beginning of November 2024. The aim of the measurements was to determine the extent to which heating with solid fuels affects UFP air pollution in selected areas and cities of Slovakia. Measurements focused on household pollution were carried out as part of the Populair project activities in cooperation with the civic association CEPTA.

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.

From 7 to 12 November 2024, an informative measurement of air pollution by ultrafine particles (UFP – from the English “ultrafine particle”) was carried out in Sereď, Banská Bystrica, Čertovica, and Prešov. The aim of the measurements was to determine the extent to which road traffic affects UFP pollution in inhabited areas of Slovakia. Traffic-related pollution measurements were conducted as part of the Populair project in cooperation with the non-governmental organization CEPTA.

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.

The Slovak Environmental Agency, in cooperation with the Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic, organized two 2-hour online workshops for representatives of local governments who fulfill delegated state administration functions in the field of air protection on December 10 and 12, 2024. The workshops focused on current information and guidelines for the application of legislative requirements in the field of air quality.