An air mass saturated with Saharan dust will be over Romania until Friday evening, which may cause an increase in PM10 and PM2.5 suspended dust values, the National Agency for Environmental Protection (ANPM) said on Thursday.

“The National Air Quality Monitoring Network (RNMCA), which is owned by the Ministry of Environment, Water Resources and Forests and managed by the National Environment Protection Agency (ANPM), may register an increase in PM10 and PM2.5 suspended dust values ​​starting today, 29 February, and until tomorrow, March 1, 2024, until 22:00, as a result of the arrival of an air mass from the north of Africa, saturated with dust of Saharan origin, which crosses the territory of Romania”, – said the ANPM press release, quoted by Agerpres.

According to the data of the National Hydrometeorological Service, on the night from February 29 to March 1, the highest concentrations will be registered in the western and southwestern regions of the country, where suspended particles will also be accompanied by rain.

“Meteorologists claim that during the day of March 1, the mass of air saturated with dust particles will disperse, and their concentration will decrease significantly. Such episodes are recorded every year, and there is no reason for the population to panic. In regions where rain will be recorded, the precipitation will stir up some of the dust, so the tracks that can be observed on cars or other outdoor objects will be reddish,” said ANPM Vice President Eugen Ioan Kozma. , in a press release quote.

The stations within the RNMCA provide continuous monitoring of ambient air quality throughout Romania, and any significant exceedance of the maximum permissible limits will be notified to the public.

Moreover, hourly concentration data from the monitoring of pollutants such as suspended dust (PM10 and PM2.5 fractions), SO2, NOx and CO can be continuously viewed by the public on the www.calitateaer.ro platform.