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[ZR07] Air pollution by ozone
State

Key message
Bad

In recent years, ambient concentrations of ozone in urban and suburban areas has been above target value for human health protection. Long-term targets have been exceeded at almost all measuring sites. Due to fewer hot sunny summer seasons, the information threshold levels have been exceeded only in the Primorska region and in some places at higher altitudes - Otlica. However, also some exceedances have been recorded at measuring sites that are not directly exposed to traffic. The highest levels of ozone have been recorded in the Primorska region namely because of weather patterns that are favourable for the ozone formation and due to the transport of ozone and its precursor from northern Italy.

This indicator shows the number of days with exceeded ozone target value and the number of hours with exceeded information value within a calendar year.

Tropospheric ozone differs from some other pollutants, as it is a product of photochemical reactions. Ozone precursors, especially nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons, are substances from which ozone is formed in photochemical reactions. Consequently, high ozone concentrations do not occur in the immediate vicinity of large sources of precursors but in their wider surroundings. Under stable weather conditions during anticyclones, ozone clouds with high ozone concentrations can have a diameter of hundreds of kilometres and can be several kilometres high. Ozone concentrations above the information value may cause health problems (chest pain, coughing, vomiting, irritated eyes) in children and in people with chronic respiratory and cardio-vascular diseases. Repeated exposure to high ozone concentrations may cause permanent lung damage.

Charts

Figure ZR07-1: Number of days with exceeded target value for ozone with highest average 8-hour running value higher than 120 µg/m3 (annual limit value 25 days), 2004-2019
Sources:

Automatic Air Quality Measurement Database (ANAS), Slovenian Environment Agency, 2021 (1. 03. 2021)

Show data
Urban background[number of days] Ljubljana Bežigrad[number of days] Hrastnik[number of days] Celje[number of days] Nova Gorica[number of days] Koper[number of days] Suburban background[number of days] Trbovlje[number of days] Rural background[number of days] Iskrba[number of days] Otlica[number of days] Urban-traffic type[number of days] Maribor center[number of days] Zagorje[number of days] Rural/Agricultural type[number of days] Murska Sobota - Rakičan[number of days] permitted exceedance[number of days]
2004 43 42 31 40 59 0 25 25 47 47 0 11 8 14 50 50 25
2005 46.25 47 32 45 61 0 26 26 59 59 0 11.50 6 17 48 48 25
2006 35.25 37 25 33 46 0 16 16 53 53 0 7.50 3 12 24 24 25
2007 39 41 29 38 48 55 20 20 61 61 0 8.50 3 14 30 30 25
2008 32.75 35 26 28 42 60 18 18 65.50 53 78 6.50 3 10 23 23 25
2009 26.25 29 20 22 34 55 15 15 59.50 47 72 3 2 4 19 19 25
2010 23.75 22 22 19 32 57 17 17 48 39 57 3 2 4 15 15 25
2011 33 30 29 27 46 65 22 22 53 40 66 9 2 9 27 27 25
2012 40.25 37 34 33 57 66 22 22 55 42 68 8 3 13 38 38 25
2013 41.25 40 32 33 60 69 19 19 41 41 69 14 0 14 39 39 25
2014 31 28 25 23 48 56 15 15 37 37 54 9 0 9 27 27 25
2015 28.40 26 24 20 48 62 14 14 31 31 48 9 0 9 22 22 25
2016 23.80 21 18 15 43 57 12 12 32 25 39 5 0 5 16 16 25
2017 32.20 35 24 22 50 64 18 18 40 31 49 10 0 10 24 24 25
2018 25.60 29 17 17 42 55 14 14 36.50 24 49 6 0 6 23 23 25
2019 30.75 31 0 20 45 53 17 17 42.50 28 57 8 0 8 28 28 25
Figure ZR07-2: Number of hours with exceeded warning value for ozone (highest 1-hour value > 180 µg/m3), 1995-2019
Sources:

Automatic Air Quality Measurement Database (ANAS), Slovenian Environment Agency, 2021 (1. 03. 2021)

Show data
Urban background [number of hours] Ljubljana Bežigrad [number of hours] Hrastnik [number of hours] Celje [number of hours] Nova Gorica [number of hours] Koper [number of hours] Suburban background [number of hours] Trbovlje [number of hours] Rural background [number of hours] Iskrba [number of hours] Otlica [number of hours] Urban-traffic type [number of hours] Maribor center [number of hours] Rural/Agricultural type [number of hours] Murska Sobota - Rakičan [number of hours]
1995 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1996 20 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1997 2.67 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1998 1.33 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1999 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2000 1.67 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2001 1.33 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2002 7.50 4 0 0 26 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2003 30.25 18 1 2 100 0 6 6 11 11 0 0 0 6 6
2004 7.25 4 0 0 25 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
2005 11.60 11 0 0 31 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
2006 17 9 4 3 33 36 1 1 34 1 67 0 0 0 0
2007 6.80 7 0 0 18 9 0 0 25 7 43 0 0 0 0
2008 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.50 0 5 0 0 0 0
2009 0.60 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0
2010 0.40 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1.50 0 3 0 0 0 0
2011 1.20 0 0 0 2 4 0 0 0.50 0 1 0 0 0 0
2012 7.20 3 1 1 18 13 1 1 6 0 12 0 0 0 0
2013 8.60 1 0 0 20 22 0 0 0 0 33 0 0 0 0
2014 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2015 2.50 0 0 0 6 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2016 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2017 2.67 6 1 0 4 5 4 4 7.50 0 15 0 0 0 0
2018 1.67 0 0 0 9 1 0 0 1.50 0 3 0 0 0 0
2019 1.50 0 0 0 5 4 0 0 12.50 0 25 0 0 0 0

Goals

  • Meeting the ozone target value for human health protection: the maximum daily 8-hour mean value for ozone (120 µg/m3) must not be exceeded more than 25 days within a calendar year (calculated as the average for the last three years);
  • meeting long-term goals as regards ozone values for human health protection: the maximum daily 8-hour mean value for ozone (120 µg/m3) must not be exceeded;
  • the information value of hourly ozone concentration for human health protection is 180 µg/m3, while the alert value is 240 μg/m3.

Methodology

Date of data source summarization
Last modified
01.03.2021
Author(s)

Mateja Gjerek, Slovenian Environment Agency.