Air Quality in Russian Cities for 1991–2016

Abstract

Air quality in Russian cities for 1991–2016 is analyzed. Four cities (Bratsk, Magnitogorsk, Chita, and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk) have been “blacklisted” by the Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring virtually every year during this period, as both chronically and extremely polluted cities. A high level of air pollution is observed in the cities of Irkutsk oblast, Krasnoyarsk krai, and Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk oblasts. The determining factors forming the ecological situation in cities depending on their location, specialization, and population size were identified: (1) large emissions from industrial facilities and/or transport; (2) emissions of mainly unidentified sources of pollution; (3) high natural air pollution potential; (4) “import” of pollution from external sources due to the adverse ecological and geographical location. An absolute solution to the problem of polluted air can only be found within the framework of regulating Russia’s territorial development.