The level of air pollution in Kyiv increased by two-three times compared to the permissible norm; this is due to the strong wind, which carried dust at a speed of 20-22 m/s. These indicators were reported both yesterday, April 16, and today, April 17, as Director of Hydrometeorological Centre Mykola Kulbida stated on the briefing.
"This situation, basically, was due to a significant increase in wind speed up to 20-22 m/s, the transfer of wind erosion of open soils. The next phenomenon that has been observed is a decrease in visibility due to the smoke that came with that air mass," Kulbida stated.
He added that today, in addition to dust in the air, an increased level of sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde was detected. It should be noted that the concentration of these substances in the air does not exceed the norm.
Friday afternoon recorded a decrease in dust concentration. According to the Ukrainian Hydrometic Center, the wind transferred this pollution further from the northwest to the southeast. Thus, dust moves to the territory of Cherkasy, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk and other areas. Mykola Kulbida said that it would not be dangerous for residents of these regions, because the concentration of pollutants in the air is rapidly decreasing.
As we reported before, the index of air quality in the Ukrainian capital is defined as "unhealthy".