Pollution

15 Posts

•

0 Followers

Air pollution in Tbilisi. Photo: Tamuna Chkareuli/OC Media.

Environment

Georgia introduces car emission fines in major cities

by Tata Shoshiashvili

•4 min read

From Monday, exhaust from private cars is being monitored in four of Georgia’s largest cities, with drivers whose emissions exceed established limits facing fines. The move is aimed at reducing high levels of urban air pollution, which have reportedly increased in recent years. The resolution means that patrolling teams will monitor the visible exhaust of cars of both Georgian citizens and foreign residents for harmful substances in Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi, and Rustavi. Drivers will be fined

Activists holding a banner saying 'We've been suffocated! We demand clean air!' in front of Rustavi City Hall on 5 June. Image: Shota Kincha/OC Media

Environment

Demands for action on air pollution in Rustavi

by Shota Kincha

•4 min read

Despite pushing lawmakers to amend legislation to counter industrial air pollution in Georgia, activists in Rustavi are now fighting for the rules to be implemented. Activists and residents from Rustavi gathered on Sunday in the city centre to protest air pollution. The demonstration coincided with World Environment Day, marked annually globally to raise awareness of environmental issues, including air pollution. The rallygoers marched through Merab Kostava Avenue blocking traffic in one di

Armenia

Activists in Armenia raise the alarm over oil-covered storks

by OC Media

•3 min read

Photographs of oil-covered storks that have emerged online have reignited fears from environmentalists over the fate of the birds in Armenia. According to the Armenian Environmental Front, a group of activists visited several villages in the central Ararat and Armavir provinces on 4 July and identified 65 of the birds covered in oil. Activists have laid the blame on fisheries in the region, which they accuse of polluting the areas where storks feed. The Ministry of the Environment has als

A factory in Rustavi. Photo: Tamuna Chkareuli/OC Media.

air pollution

Analysis | Air pollution in Tbilisi nearly halved by COVID-19 measures

by CRRC

•3 min read

Particulate matter in Tbilisi’s air has fallen by as much as 45% following the introduction of measures to combat the spread of COVID-19, according to analysis of air quality data by CRRC Georgia. The findings reflect broader global trends which have seen dramatic decreases in air pollution levels in China, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Data from the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture show a clear fall in air pollution in the Georgian capital. The plot below examines ov

alaverdi

Armenia’s copper capital no longer? The uncertain future of Alaverdi

by Gayane Mkrtchyan

•8 min read

For years the copper smelter was the economic heart of Alaverdi, but its operation came at a price, the plant spewed thousands of tonnes of toxic emissions into the air. Today the smelter’s terrible environmental record finally caught up with it. Karen Petrosyan, one of the few residents of Alaverdi who is still employed at the smelter, told OC Media that he is one of only 230 remaining employees — less than 2% of the city’s population of 13,000. But despite having the title of ‘employee’,

dying trees

In pictures | Tbilisi’s dying evergreens

by Tamuna Chkareuli

•2 min read

As the trees on Tbilisi’s periphery have began to turn orange and die, struck by parasites and bark fungi spreading throughout the city, Tbilisi City Hall has begun a massive tree cutting and treatment programme. But environmental activists say there is more that can be done to save Tbilisi’s last green areas. During the Soviet period, pine trees were planted en masse throughout Tbilisi to protect the city from mudslides and floods caused by logging in the 19th century. The communist author

Daghestan

Daghestani prosecutors office to sue Makhachkala water company

by OC Media

•3 min read

The prosecutor’s office of the Daghestani capital, Makhachkala, is to sue the city’s water company for providing substandard water. On 28 January, the prosecutor’s office demanded the company and city authorities provide suburban residents with quality drinking water. A spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office told OC Media that water provided in the five villages of Makhachkala is industrial quality rather than drinking water, and therefore does not meet hygiene requirements. According t