In view of the high energy prices, people in Thuringia are more often heated with wood and in the fireplace. So far, however, this has not had any effect on the particulate matter balance. The permissible limit values are hardly torn in the Free State.
Jena (dpa/th) – According to official information, the level of fine dust in the air in Thuringia last year was extremely low. According to the first, preliminary results, the measured values for 2022, as in 2021, are well below the limit values, as the Thuringian State Office for the Environment, Mining and Nature Conservation announced to the German Press Agency. Accordingly, the daily mean value of 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air was exceeded on a maximum of four days at the Wanfrieder Straße measuring point in Mühlhausen.
Overall, the readings from the 20 automatic measuring stations in Thuringia are well below the 35 permitted annual exceedances of the daily average, as the authority announced. Compared to 2021, the air quality has changed little in the past year, according to the information. The greatest air pollution was measured on busy inner-city road sections.
According to the authorities, a lot of fine dust got into the air with the fireworks on New Year’s Eve. Nevertheless, the daily mean value to be observed was not exceeded, it said. This is mainly due to the favorable weather conditions. The clouds of smoke from the fireworks were quickly dispersed by the wind and thus diluted.
According to the state office, the long-term evaluation of the measurement results for both fine dust and nitrogen dioxide showed that the trend towards decreasing pollutant concentrations is continuing. Reasons for this include the replacement of vehicle fleets in local public transport with more environmentally friendly drives and the conversion of heating systems to lower-emission energy sources. Even the increased use of wood-fired fireplaces has so far not done any harm to the generally decreasing fine dust pollution.
According to the Federal Environment Agency, inhaling fine dust is a health hazard. The European Commission is therefore striving to tighten the currently valid air quality values and presented a corresponding draft directive at the end of October 2022. From the year 2030, it provides for more demanding limit values. Accordingly, only a daily mean value of 45 micrograms per cubic meter of air should then apply for fine dust with 18 permissible exceedances in the calendar year. So far it has been 50 micrograms per cubic meter with 35 permissible exceedances per year.