Chelyabinsk ranked 1st among Russian cities with highest air pollution levels
MOSCOW. Jan 29 (Interfax) - Russian Deputy Prime Minister Viktoria Abramchenko met with heads of Russian regions and tasked them with reducing emissions of polluting gases into the atmosphere in 12 Russian cities, including Chelyabinsk, Nizhny Tagil and Magnitogorsk, which have been ranked among the most polluted in 2020, Abramchenko's press service said.
"Aggregate emissions of 12 cities with high air pollution rates must be reduced by at least 20% by 2024," Abramchenko said on Friday, according to her press service.
The list cited by Abramchenko features top 12 Russian cities with the highest aerogenic risks to health: Chelyabinsk is on top, followed by Nizhny Tagil, Magnitogorsk, Norilsk, Novokuznetsk, Omsk, Krasnoyarsk, Cherepovets, Lipetsk, Bratsk, Chita, and Mednogorsk.
The Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) has compiled the rating based on a combination of indicators, including population living in areas exposed to pollutants, and the impact's gravity for people's health. Air pollution calculations made by the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resource Usage (Rosprirodnadzor) became the basis for the rating.
Speaking at the meeting, Abramchenko insisted that there must be an individual program for each of the 12 cities. Efforts aimed at reducing the emission of pollutants should not be limited to switching public transport to other fuels and sources of energy, she said.
"Experts estimate that such measures will make a tangible effect as part of the federal project to an extent of no more than 3%. It's important to intensify work with large polluters," she said.
Within this work, it is planned to reduce emissions of polluting substances into the atmosphere by 1.5 million tonnes by 2024, she said.
At this point, it is planned to expand the Clean Air federal project after 2024. Based on the results of environmental monitoring, the authorities have identified other cities with high air pollution levels, Abramchenko said. In total , 48 such cities are now on the list, she said.
Abramchenko also said at the meeting that at yearend 2020, polluting emissions dropped by 71,000 tonnes.