Schools to Receive Free Air Quality Meters in Hungary

The Clean Air Action Group will distribute free air quality monitors to schools in Hungary. Their aim is to supplement data from the country's sparsely located official automatic monitoring stations with data collected close to the population, and to raise awareness of air pollution among students with the help of teachers.

Air quality monitoring in Hungary is in line with EU legislation, but the limited number of official monitoring stations (58 in total) does not provide accurate information on the daily exposure of residents and streets to air pollution. One of the project's priorities is to extend the use of population-based measurements to municipalities outside the capital, the action group’s statement points out.

The project already has 50 meters distributed, and the Clean Air Action Group expects a wider roll-out of the device in the coming period. It plans to distribute 150 additional devices during the heating season, which will provide information on particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), which is extremely harmful to health. These meters are easy to use and can be obtained by anyone. The results of the measurements will then be available to everyone and school pupils will be able to use the tangible data to address the issue of air pollution.