Concentration Of Microparticles Reaches ‘Harmful’ Values In Belarus

Experts explained where and why.

Residents of Homel have been complaining about smoke and a persistent smell of burning that can be felt on the street for several days. Forecasters explained where the smoke came from in Belarus and where the concentration of potentially dangerous microparticles in the air reached “harmful” values on Tuesday, September 24, telegraf.news writes.

From the early morning of September 24, residents of the Homel region began complaining on social networks about the “very pungent smell” of smoke that had been felt since the night, and also shared videos of a “foggy-smoky” morning in different areas of the regional center.

“The night was suffocating, and the morning is also in smoke! It’s burning!” one of the viewers was indignant in the comments under the video on TikTok.

Another complained about “smog” on the windows, on cars and in the apartment. According to her, the floor from this smog became “black, as if covered with a soot coating”, and “the soot is washed off the rag”.

The authors of the Telegram weather channel Nadvorye also reported on the difficult situation in the east of Belarus. Referring to data from the AirMQ project, which organized an independent air pollution monitoring network in cities, experts pointed to “significant concentrations” of PM2.5.

PM2.5 particles are suspended solid microparticles and tiny liquid droplets (from 10 nm to 2.5 μm in diameter) contained in the air. Unlike large particles, they are able to overcome biological barriers and penetrate the human body, polluting the lungs and other internal organs with potentially dangerous microparticles of soot, mineral salts, and heavy metal compounds that pose a threat to health.

As can be seen from the AirMQ map, as of the morning of September 24, the concentration of PM2.5 particles reached “harmful” values (marked in red on the map) in certain areas of Minsk, Mahiliou and especially Homel.

The cause of heavy smoke in the east of the country, apparently, are forest fires in neighboring Ukraine. The day before, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported that local rescuers are currently unable to take control of 18 large fires in 7 regions of the country: Poltava, Chernihiv, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Rivne and Sumy.

In particular, in the Chernihiv region, which borders Belarus, 2 fires have now been recorded — a forest is burning on a total area of more than 190 hectares. The official representative of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, Oleksandr Khorunzhiy, explained on Ukrainian television on September 23 that this refers to fires in ecosystems — open areas (dry grass, bushes, dead wood), forest fires in waterless areas, as well as fires in peatlands, which are very difficult and time-consuming to extinguish.

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