Breathing in Podlaskie is Injurious to Health.

Air pollution threatens the health of 1.2 million people across 17 districts in Podlaskie. The average PM2.5 level is 10 µg/m³—2.0× higher than the WHO guideline.

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Brought to you by Amrit Sharma

Overview

Air Pollution in Podlaskie

Podlaskie faces significant air pollution challenges. 100% of districts exceed the WHO guideline for clean air. This is putting 1.2 million across 17 districts at risk.

The average PM2.5 over 2023 was 10µg/m³. That's 2.0 times the WHO guideline for clean air of 5µg/m³.

This is equivalent of everybody, including children, smoking about 166 cigarettes in a year.

Trends

Air Quality Trend

Annual PM2.5 levels from 2014 to 2023. The WHO guideline for safe air is 5 µg/m³.

Health Impact

Life Expectancy Impact

If Podlaskie met the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³, the average person would live 0.48 years longer.

That's 573K years of life stolen from 1.2 million people. Years of watching children grow up. Years of building a career. Years of quiet mornings and celebrations.

Lives cut short. Breathing kills.

Most Polluted

Districts with Highest Pollution

The top 10 most polluted districts in Podlaskie. These areas face the greatest health burden from air pollution.

  • 1.Siemiatycze
    0.6 years lost
  • 2.Wysokie Mazowieckie
    0.6 years lost
  • 3.Zambrów
    0.5 years lost
  • 4.Bielsk
    0.5 years lost
  • 5.Łomża (City)
    0.5 years lost
  • 6.Łomża
    0.5 years lost
  • 7.Białystok (City)
    0.5 years lost
  • 8.Hajnówka
    0.5 years lost
  • 9.Białystok
    0.5 years lost
  • 10.Kolno
    0.5 years lost
Exposure

Population Exposure by Pollution Level

Distribution of population across different PM2.5 pollution levels. The WHO guideline is 5 µg/m³—only populations below this threshold are breathing safe air.

< 5 µg/m³
0%
0
5-10 µg/m³
31.4%
375K
10-15 µg/m³
68.6%
818K
15-25 µg/m³
0%
0
25-35 µg/m³
0%
0
> 35 µg/m³
0%
0
Districts

All 17 Districts in Podlaskie

Complete air quality data for every district in Podlaskie, sorted by population.

DistrictPopulationPM2.5 µg/m³Years Lost
Białystok (City)304K
10.2
0.5 years
Białystok159K
10.0
0.5 years
Suwałki (City)72K
9.0
0.4 years
Sokółka66K
9.1
0.4 years
Łomża (City)63K
10.4
0.5 years
Augustów58K
9.6
0.4 years
Wysokie Mazowieckie57K
10.6
0.6 years
Bielsk54K
10.4
0.5 years
Łomża52K
10.3
0.5 years
Grajewo47K
9.7
0.5 years
Siemiatycze44K
11.0
0.6 years
Zambrów44K
10.6
0.5 years
Hajnówka42K
10.0
0.5 years
Mońki40K
9.7
0.5 years
Kolno38K
9.9
0.5 years
Suwałki36K
8.6
0.3 years
Sejny20K
8.8
0.4 years

Showing 17 districts, sorted by population (largest first). PM2.5 values are for 2023. Years lost calculated against WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.