Meteorologists assured that the level of formaldehyde in the air of Mykolaiv is within the normal range

The Mykolaiv Regional Center for Hydrometeorology reported that the level of formaldehyde in the city's air is within the normal range. This situation has persisted in the city for the past 10 years.

Svitlana Shepel, deputy of the air pollution monitoring sector of the Mykolaiv Regional Center for Hydrometeorology, reported this during a briefing on March 12, NikVesti reports.

«We conduct research four times a day, we have four observation posts. Now a lot of attention has been paid to the issue of formaldehyde. Such «terrible» numbers were spread in the press, that the excess was hundreds, thousands of times. But I want to tell you that for ten years the average daily MPC was always exceeded. Statistics almost do not change: in some years it increases a little, in others it decreases a little. But it should be noted that there are two maximum permissible concentrations: the average daily concentration, which is negligible, and there is the maximum one-time concentration. We currently do not even fix the maximum single concentration. That is, our air is relatively clean and nothing critical is happening at the moment. In our country, the average daily air pollution has been fixed at the level of 4-6 MPC for 10 years,» Svitlana Shepel explained.

She also added that the increased level of formaldehyde is observed not only in Mykolaiv, but also in other southern and eastern cities of Ukraine.

«I want to tell the city population not to worry and not to panic. By the way, the increased content of formaldehyde is observed not only in Mykolaiv, but also in the entire southern region of Ukraine, as well as in the east. This is also related to the climate, as formaldehyde is also fixed due to meteorological conditions,» said Svitlana Shepel.

According to her, in 2022, half the level of formaldehyde (average daily MPC — 3) was recorded compared to 2023 (average daily MPC — 5.3), and the highest level was recorded in 2019 (average daily MPC — 6.3).

What is formaldehyde, why its indicators are increasing and how to reduce its impact on health, read in the NikVesti explainer: «What's wrong with the air in Mykolaiv and how does formaldehyde affect health? We explain.»

What is the air in Mykolaiv?

In 2023, Mykolaiv took fourth place in the ranking of Ukrainian cities with the most polluted air. After that, the eco-organization SaveDnipro released information that last year in Mykolaiv , the highest concentration of formaldehyde in the air was recorded among Ukrainian cities.

Later, the Mykolaiv Regional Center for Hydrometeorology explained that formaldehyde has been the main pollutant of the city's atmospheric air for many years. An excess of nitrogen dioxide was also recorded.

The experts explained that the exceeded norms can be connected both with an increase in motor vehicles and with a possible change in the type of fuel used. And in order to reduce the level of formaldehyde in the air of Mykolaiv , it is necessary to develop a program of environmental safety of atmospheric air in the city, taking into account European experience.

As early as 2020 , the air quality index in Mykolaiv reached a level harmful to humans. The largest polluters of atmospheric air in 2021 were the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant, the Yugcement enterprise, and the Mykolaivgaz gas transportation system operator.

In general, the situation with the biggest air pollutants in the Mykolayiv region remains unchanged from year to year. According to 2018 data, Mykolaiv Alumina Plant, Yugcement and Mykolaivgaz were also the biggest air polluters in the region.