Platform which will inform citizens in real time about air pollution in Thessaloniki and will warn in time, especially vulnerable groups, about the risks that arise in cases of high concentrations of pollutants is put into operation by the central municipality.

An initial form of the web application will be ready in June, while it is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2024, as was said in the morning at the Thessaloniki City Hall during a workshop on “Environmental Information in the City of Thessaloniki – Atmospheric Pollution and Health”.

The specialized platform – web application (sirius.devav.gr) was created by the Municipality of Thessaloniki and the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), within the framework of the LIFE SIRIUS European project and will present current air pollution measurements, as well as forecasts for each municipal district for a period of three days. Citizens will be able to easily see with a color scale, from green to red, what is the state of the atmospheric environment in the city, forming not only a general picture but obtaining information about different areas.

The mayor of Thessaloniki, Stelios Angeloudis, during his presentation at the conference, initially stated that “the beautiful Thessaloniki is experiencing an invisible threat, atmospheric pollution. Menacing and extremely dangerous, especially for vulnerable groups of the population.” He stood, then, on the “systematic excesses in the prices of microparticles for a significant number of days during the year that have continued in Thessaloniki since 2005. In 2023 we had the sad privilege to announce the first conviction for air pollution in Thessaloniki and the very high prices of microparticles which the country avoided to answer”. “We have to change the air we breathe”, underlined Mr. Angeloudis, emphasizing the great importance of the platform and speaking of a valuable and useful tool for recording air pollution and protecting citizens.

From the side of AUTH, the rector Charalambos Feidas, emphasized that the temperatures in the city are particularly high and it is “necessity to provide environmental information to citizens and all competent bodies. It is important that two important bodies, the municipality and the AUTH, cooperate in the context of this European project with the aim of informing and raising awareness of the population about the environmental issues facing urban centers. We, as AUTH, invest practically and consistently, with continuous and multi-level action, in the scientific as well as organizational support of the projects aimed at improving the environment”.

Thessaloniki is higher than Athens in suspended particles

“Thessaloniki ranks higher than Athens when it comes to pollution from suspended particles. The first and most important thing is to take measures for the permanent pollution of the city”, said the professor at the Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics, AUTH, Dimitris Melas. He argued that “measures should be taken for the permanent pollution of Thessaloniki” and stood in a research of the AUTH, as part of a doctoral thesis, according to which “there is an increase in mortality in the city during days when we have elevated temperatures”.

In her own statement on the effects of air pollution, the postdoctoral researcher at the Atmospheric Physics Laboratory of AUTH, Dafni Parliari, said that “episodes of air pollution are linked to the same meteorological conditions as heat waves, creating many times during the year and the inhabitants of Thessaloniki conditions that are very harmful. Especially for vulnerable groups such as the elderly, pregnant women or people suffering from chronic diseases or autoimmune diseases”.

He also emphasized that the heat waves that start early in the summer, ie at the beginning of June or at the end of May, “shock the body with heat stress even more” than the heat waves of August and for this reason more attention is required.

Finally, the pulmonologist, emeritus professor of AUTH, Dr. Lazaros Sichletidis focused on the short-term and long-term effects of the environment on health, while he expressed the opinion that the circulation of electric buses in the city and the operation of the metro will improve the situation in the city.