Rust'avi air quality map

How much good information about air quality can be found on the air pollution map for Rustavi?

There is a lot of interesting information about air quality on the air pollution map for Rustavi and it is really easy to access. Select the map icon on the main city page and a new page will open which is filled with information about air quality.

When this new page is first opened, the viewer will be surprised at the colouration of the map which is a direct indication of the current state of the air. The greenish/yellow hue it displays means the air quality now is classified as being “Moderate”. The available colours range from pale green to dark maroon and are standard representations of air quality across the entire IQAir website. The darker colours signify worsening air quality. The level of air quality is quoted by using the United States Air Quality Index reading or US AQI for short. This is calculated by taking measurements of up to six of the most commonly found pollutants in city air. These are usually both sizes of Particulate Matter (PM2.5 and PM10), ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide. When looking at the map, several coloured discs will be seen scattered across it. These represent the sites of the ground-level air monitoring stations which collect the data about air quality. Not all cities have these actual stations and rely on data from overhead satellites instead. Rustavi is one of these cities that has no physical stations but the results are just the same. The closest stations to Rustavi are in Tbilisi where there are approximately four of them. Their colour indicates the current level of air pollution and the number they display is their US AQI reading.

Looking back at the main city page, in the coloured banner at the top of it can be seen that the current air quality is “Moderate” with a US AQI reading of 59. The background colour of the banner also shows this level. The main pollutant was found to be PM2.5 with a recorded level of 16.1 µg/m³ which is just over three times the suggested target figure of 5 µg/m³ as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The asterisk to the right of the US AQI reading indicates that the figure is derived from satellite modelling and not from physical stations.

Can any more information about air quality be found on the air pollution map for Rustavi?

There is a lot more extremely interesting information about air quality on the air pollution map for Rustavi but the page needs to be viewed in full-screen mode so that all the information becomes visible. An icon at the top of the page will reopen it at maximum size.

Once the page has reopened, a list of four choices will be seen on the left-hand side of the screen which can all be turned on and off, individually to see the effects they each have on the map.

The first option would show the positions of the ground-level air quality monitoring stations which are run by the city, but as already stated, Rustavi has no physical stations and gets its data from overhead satellites. The ones that are visible on the map are over near Tbilisi, in the northwest.

The next option shows the location of any wildfires there are that may be burning in the locality, but at the time of writing in March 2023, there were no such icons on the map meaning there were no fires of any significance burning in the vicinity. If any fires are detected then option number four needs to be deliberated because it shows the speed and direction of the prevailing winds and will give a good indication of where the smoke will blow.

The third option is very powerful because it changes the colour of the map to reflect the current state of the air. If the air quality is poor the colour will be dark and might be a little distracting. In this case, the option can be deactivated and the colour will change to a more subdued palette.

The rest of the information about air quality can be found on the right-hand side of the screen where a table will be seen. This table ranks the seven most polluted cities in descending order. The remainder of the participating world cities can be found under the full-raking section which will open a set of dedicated pages.

Is the source of the polluted air shown on the air quality map for Rustavi?

The actual source of the polluted air is not directly shown on the air quality map for Rustavi but it is an industrial city in Georgia that is known for its heavy pollution levels due to the presence of factories, power stations and transportation.

The city has also many factories that discharge pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter (PM2.5) into the air. The burning of waste is a common practice in Rustavi, which contributes to the emission of harmful pollutants such as dioxins and furans.

Rustavi also has a high traffic density, and most vehicles in the city are old and use low-quality fuel, which results in increased emissions of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter (PM2.5).

PM2.5 is always talked about on the air quality map for Rustavi, but how dangerous is it?

Particulate matter (PM) includes microscopic matter suspended in air or water. Airborne particles are called aerosols. PM10 includes particles less than 10 microns in diameter, PM2.5 those less than 2.5 microns.

The toxicity of suspended particles is mainly due to particles with a diameter of less than 10 microns. They can be emitted directly into the air from anthropogenic activities (industry, residential, agriculture, transport) and natural sources (forest fires, volcanic eruptions, etc.). Particles can also be formed directly in the atmosphere by physico-chemical reactions between pollutants already present in the atmosphere.

Georgia ranks second in the world after North Korea in the number of deaths due to air pollution. 71% of air pollution in Georgia is caused by vehicle emissions. The social and economic costs of current levels of air pollution could be as much as $350 million a year—$320 million from lead and about $25 million from other pollutants.