Due to the nine-day Eid al-Adha holiday, millions of people in Istanbul went to their hometowns or holiday regions. Air pollution in the mega city with a population of 20 million decreased by 55 percent compared to the previous 9 days.
While citizens who wanted to spend the holiday outside the city or in their hometowns emptied Istanbul, this situation led to an improvement in air quality and a decrease in pollution.
According to data compiled from 36 air quality measurement stations, particulate matter (PM10) air pollution value in Istanbul was recorded as 44.26 on June 6-14. During the Eid al-Adha holiday, this value dropped to 19.95.
Accordingly, the air pollution rate in Istanbul during the Eid holiday decreased by 55 percent compared to the previous 9 days.
‘Number of vehicles should be reduced’
Istanbul Technical University (ITU) Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Department of Meteorological Engineering Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Toros noted that according to the World Health Organization, 9 out of every 10 people cannot breathe healthy air. Prof. Dr. Toros emphasized that air pollution is one of the most important problems in Istanbul.
Explaining that many people left the city during the holiday, which led to a decrease in traffic in the city, Toros said, “According to Istanbul air quality values, particulate matter concentrations throughout Istanbul improved by 55 percent between June 6-14, 9 days before the holiday, and June 15-23, that is, during the 9-day holiday. This value is an extremely important value.”
Toros emphasized the importance of making this situation permanent and said, “The number of vehicles in Istanbul is approximately 5.5 million. If we reduce the number of vehicles in Istanbul, this data shows that air pollution will reach really low values.”
‘Air quality was quite good in all districts’
Pointing out that air quality is affected by traffic, industry and heating, Toros continued as follows: “There is no heating in summer. Therefore, there is only industry and transportation. When we compare May and June data, we see that air pollution has increased compared to May, although there is no heating in June and the weather is hot. Meteorological conditions are also effective here. High pressure prevailed in June. It is seen that the high pressure system increased air pollution. However, an improvement of up to 55 percent in air pollution compared to the process during the Eid holidays in previous years is not a situation we have come across. Air quality was quite good in all districts of Istanbul during the holiday.”
