New app to track air quality in Warsaw

The app, which is to pull data from the inspectorate's provincial branch, is to be ready within weeks.

The move comes in the wake of alarmingly high air particle readings for Warsaw surfacing on Chinese servers, allegedly quoting Polish indices. The inspectorate, however, deemed them unreliable and distorted.

"The quoted concentrations [of particles and toxins] were at times tenfold higher than our own readings," Krystyna Barańska, staff member of the state agency said.

Meanwhile, as the spokesperson for the city council, Bartosz Milczarczyk adds, the Chinese websites provided air quality rates also from Polish sensors that have been out of use since 2013.

Last April, the Mazovian Province Office issued an alert over exceeded levels of PM10 in the atmosphere, alongside increased levels of PM2.5, benzopyrene and nitrogen dioxide. The alert remains in effect throughout the year.

Up to 350 people die prematurely from lung cancer in Warsaw each year, and up to 1,800 die from cardivascular diseases, doctors warn.

Poland has the most polluted atmosphere in Europe, alongside Bulgaria. Last week in the southern city of Krakow, smog levels prompted the city authorities to impose temporary traffic restrictions for vehicles over 3.5 tons in the center. (aba/di)

Source: IAR, Wawalove.pl