KAZALCI OKOLJA

Environmental indicators in Slovenia


Environmental indicators are based on graphs, maps and assessments and as such present environmental trends in Slovenia. The indicators represent one of the four pillars of our environmental reporting, and are prepared in accordance with the Environmental Protection Act. The Environmental Indicators in Slovenia website enables users to browse among 180 indicators. They are based on numerical data and they indicate the state, characteristics and trends of environmental development in Slovenia. They are prepared using a systematic approach based on data and monitoring, as shown in the information pyramid.

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Good

One of the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions in Slovenia is road traffic, as passenger vehicles contribute as much as 20 % of all greenhouse gas emissions. It is estimated that, due to the smaller role of public passenger transport in Slovenia, it is necessary to achieve as much as 2/3 reduction of GHG emissions by electrifying the vehicle fleet, which dictates the replacement of existing vehicles with fossil fuels. with electric vehicles (battery and plug-in hybrids EV).

Bad

Precipitation is highly variable in space and time, even more than temperature (storms and hail). In the last two decades, Slovenia is observing catastrophic droughts and abundant precipitation resulting in floods, sometimes drought and floods occur even within the same year. The maximum snow cover depth and the depth of fresh snow decreased in the period 1961-2022.

Neutral

Asthma is the most common chronic disease among children and one of the major causes of hospitalization to the age of fifteen. In 2019, in EU countries, the share of people reporting asthma was 5,7 %, and for Slovenia it was 4,8 %.  In the period 2017-2021, the municipalities of Kostel, Kobilje and Cankova stood out in terms of the number of hospitalizations for asthma. Recent evidences support relationship between exposure to air pollution and exacerbation of asthma, mainly due to exposure to particulate matter (PM10).

Neutral

Annual growing season length is increasing almost everywhere in Europe, mostly in Eastern and Northern part. In Slovenia, the length of the annual growing season is increasing, especially since mid-1990s. According to projections, the duration of the annual growing season throughout Europe will increase in future.

Bad

The frequency of agricultural drought in Slovenia has been increasing in recent decades. In the last twenty years, we have recorded 7 droughts that affected Slovenia at the scale of a natural disaster. Drought is occurring with increasing intensity and in areas and seasons where there have been no problems in the past. An additional risk for agricultural drought are rapidly developing droughts in summer ("flash droughts"), which occur especially during heat waves. Projections show that trend of increasing frequency and intensity of agricultural drought will continue in the future.

Neutral

Comparison of periods 1961-1990 and 1991-2020 on the chosen representative stations around Slovenia shows decrease of heating degree days by around 10 % and multiple increase of cooling degree days. With projected continuous temperature raise until the end of 21st century, those trends are expected to continue. Thus, in Slovenia, energy demand for cooling will increase in the warmer period of the year, while the energy demand for heating will decrease in colder period of the year. Same trend is projected for Europe in general.