in 2024
Jana Matejovičová, Veronika Mináriková, Blanka Paveleková, Juraj Beňo, Dušan Štefánik, Jana Krajčovičová
Meteorological conditions
Air quality depends on the temporal and spatial distributions of pollutant emissions. Meteorological conditions also have a significant impact. The most important factors include:
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Dispersion conditions are influenced by both long-term and short-term factors. In the long term, they are determined by the terrain – for example, mountain valleys tend to have low wind speeds, frequent calms and temperature inversions, which worsen the dispersion of pollution. In the short term, they are influenced by the weather – during high pressure situations, conditions are worsened, and when fronts pass, it is usually windy, which usually improves dispersion. These influences can vary from year to year.
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Temperature during the heating season, indirectly but significantly affects the air quality as it determines the need for heating. In many locations in Slovakia, domestic heating using solid fuels is a major source of air pollution, namely, particulate matter (PM) and benzo(a)pyrene.
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Precipatation has a positive impact on air quality, as it effectively washes pollutants out of the air.
In 2024, adverse dispersion conditions occurred frequently, mostly in November and December. These months have seen longer periods of temperature inversion. In terms of the amount of precipitation, 2024 was normal in most of the territory. However, the distribution of precipitation during the year was uneven - exceptionally low precipitation totals occurred in February, July and August, while well-above-average precipitation totals occurred in June and September. The year 2024 was relatively favorable in terms of heating requirements. January was above normal in temperature in most of Slovakia, February was extremely above normal, and December was above average to above normal.
More detailed information on meteorological conditions can be found: Rok 2023 - zhodnotenie on the SHMÚ website, in the Bulletin of Meteorology and Climatology (in Slovak). Prevailing types of weather situations: on the website, analysis of the surface pressure field in the Bulletin of Meteorology and Climatology.
Evaluation of monitored air pollutants in 2024
The following summary presents the basic results of the air quality monitoring in Slovakia in 2024. A more detailed analysis and comprehensive assessment will be published in the Report on Air Quality in the Slovak Republic for 2024, which will be available at the end of June 2024 on the official website of the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute.
Compared to the period 2017-2023, the year 2024 can be classified as average in terms of air quality.
When assessing pollutant concentrations since 2017, the mean annual PM10 concentration (calculated as the average of values from all monitoring stations) was the second lowest - a lower concentration was only recorded in 2023. In terms of individual months, the most unfavorable month in 2024 in terms of PM10 concentrations was November, followed by March and December.
November became noticeably colder, and during the first half of the month, stable weather conditions prevailed, influenced by areas of high pressure. This led to prolonged adverse dispersion conditions. At the same time, drought conditions prevailed in many regions. When compared to Novembers since 2017, this November ranked as the 3rd worst regarding mean PM10 concentration – the situation was worse only in November 2018. In general, the highest PM10 concentrations occur in the winter months. Record values were recorded in January 2017.
In March and early April 2024, a significant episode of dust transport from the Saharan region occurred, significantly affecting PM10 concentrations. The concentrations decreased after the passage of an atmospheric front on April 2.
In December, the highest values were measured in the last decade of the month, with elevated PM10 concentrations occurring across almost the entire territory of Slovakia, with the exception of the eastern regions.
Assessment in terms of limit values (LV)
PM10 LV for annual mean concentration (40 µg·m–3) was not exceeded at any of NMSKO monitoring stations.
PM10 LV for daily mean concentration (50 µg·m–3; 35 times a year) – for the protection of human health was exceeded at 3 monitoring stations:
- Jelšava (53)
- Plášťovce (43)
- Veľká Ida (46)
Tab. 1 Monthly mean PM10 concentrations
| Month | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| Year 2024 | 23.4 | 21.3 | 23.8 | 18.1 | 15.0 | 16.3 | 17.5 | 19.2 | 18.8 | 19.3 | 26.4 | 23.8 |
| Mean 2017 - 2023 | 30.8 | 28.9 | 26.4 | 19.8 | 15.9 | 18.1 | 17.3 | 17.7 | 16.5 | 22.6 | 23.7 | 25.6 |
Main air pollution sources for PM10, PM2.5 and BaP:
In Veľká Ida, an industrial source, a partially non-electrified railway line with loading of dusty material, is a significant source of air pollution all year round. In winter months, the impact of heating households with solid fuel is evident. The most daily LV exceedances were recorded in November (9) and 5 exceedances in the summer, probably caused by increased dustiness from industrial source landfills.
In Jelšava, the main source is heating of households with solid fuel, the industrial source probably plays a minor role here. The most daily LV exceedances were recorded in January (18).
In Plášťovce, heating of households with solid fuel is also the main source. The highest number of daily LV exceedances occurred in December (12).
Tab. 2 Monthly mean PM2,5 concentrations
| Month | ||||||||||||
| Year 2024 | 19.7 | 16.1 | 15.9 | 10.2 | 9.1 | 10.7 | 12 | 13.4 | 10.4 | 11.9 | 20.5 | 19.6 |
| Mean 2017 - 2023 | 26.1 | 23 | 19.3 | 13.3 | 10.3 | 11.7 | 10.8 | 10.8 | 9.7 | 14.4 | 17.6 | 21.6 |
PM2.5 LV for annual mean concentration 20 µg·m–3 was exceeded at the monitoring station:
- Plášťovce (22 µg·m–3).
- Veľká Ida (6.2 ng·m–3)
- Jelšava (3.5 ng·m–3)
- Plášťovce (2.2 ng·m–3)*
- Krompachy (1.8 ng·m–3)
- Ružomberok (1.7 ng·m–3)
- Oščadnica (2.1 ng·m–3)
- Púchov (1.4 ng·m–3)
- Žilina (1.3 ng·m–3)
More than 6-fold exceedance of the target value in Veľká Ida was alarmingly high. While in most locations, local heating is the main source of BaP, in Veľká Ida, the steel production complex, especially its coke production, provides a major contribution to the high levels of BaP concentrations.
*80 % valid data
Ozone The target value was exceeded at the following monitoring stations:
- Bratislava, Jeséniova
- Chopok
SO2 LV for daily mean concentration 125 µg·m–3 (3x) and hourly mean concentration 350 µg·m–3 (24x) was not exceeded at any monitoring station. The LV for SO2 has not been exceeded in the long term.
NO2 LV for annual mean concentration 40 µg·m–3 and hourly mean concentration 200 µg·m–3 (18x) was not exceeded at any monitoring station. LV for NO2 has not been exceeded in the long term. The last time the annual LV was exceeded was in 2018 in Prešov and in Bratislava at Trnavské Mýto. Monthly mean concentrations were lower in 2024 in all months of the year compared to the 2017 – 2023 average.
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CO The LV for the annual mean concentration of 10 mg·m–3 was not exceeded at any monitoring station. The air pollution level in the period 2012–2024 is below the lower limit for assessing the level of air pollution. CO concentrations have been significantly below the LH for a long time.
Benzén LV for annual mean concentration of 5 µg·m–3 was not exceeded at any monitoring station. The annual mean concentration values have been significantly below the LV in the last five years.
Pb, Cd, As, Ni LV for annual mean concentration of 0,5 μg·m–3 pre Pb was not exceeded at any monitoring station. The target values for Cd (5 ng·m–3), As (6 ng·m–3) and Ni (20 ng·m–3) were not exceeded. The measured annual mean concentrations have been well below the LV and target values in long-term.
