New Standards for Air Quality Monitoring in Ukraine
Ukraine has approved new regulations for informing the public about air quality. This document outlines a list of harmful substances and their levels for calculating the air quality index.
The order (No. 590 dated March 24, 2025) has been registered with the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, as reported by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources.
“This is an important step towards ensuring public access to information about air quality in a user-friendly format,” the ministry noted.
The document establishes:
- a list of pollutants used to determine the index;
- the concentration ranges of these substances for index calculation;
- color and text indicators for the index;
- recommendations for the public.
The air quality index may be categorized as:
- “Very Poor”;
- “Poor”;
- “Unsatisfactory”;
- “Satisfactory”;
- “Acceptable”;
- “Good”.
“The concentration ranges for the quality index are established based on the normative values of each pollutant, considering WHO recommendations on air quality and the European air quality index.
The procedure has been developed with regard to the European air quality index published on the official page of the European Environmental Agency,” the Ministry of Environment explained.
It is worth noting that throughout February, systematic deterioration of air quality was recorded in Kyiv. Residents were advised to stay indoors and close their windows.
Subsequently, it became known that the accumulation of pollutants in the air was facilitated by weather conditions, particularly the lack of precipitation and low wind speed.