The Clean Air Action Group has launched a campaign called "Measure with us!", in which they encourage the public to buy an air quality measuring device. Their aim is to make air pollution as basic information as daily temperature.

At the press conference on 14 May, project leader Judit Szegő, an environmental scientist, briefly summarised the campaign's motivation, Zoltán Massay-Kosubek of the European Public Health Association (EPHA) presented the results of the latest research on the health-damaging effects of air pollution, and meteorologist Péter Kardos presented the new website, where anyone can now follow the development of air quality in Hungary minute by minute, and even street by street.

In Hungary, polluted air is responsible for the premature deaths of 13,000 people and the illnesses of nearly a million people every year¹, with the greatest risk being for children and the elderly².

Yet air quality is not part of everyday life. The Clean Air Action Group wants to change this by encouraging the public, together with the MetNet meteorological organisation, to buy air quality monitors. Affordably priced devices that measure particulate matter are being proposed.

Based on the size of the particles, these instruments can measure at information level two types of particulate matter, PM_2.5 and PM₁₀. Due to its small size, particulate matter penetrates deep into the human body and causes permanent damage³. Recent research suggests that the progression of coronavirus disease may be more severe where exposure to air pollution is higher⁴.

"Air pollution is a serious public health problem that can make us sick and even kill us. Its costs add to the strain on an overstretched health care system, exacerbating the consequences of coronavirus. It is vital for the public to know exactly where and when air pollution is occurring, and individual measurements are key. The more monitoring stations, even community-based ones, in municipalities, hospitals or schools, the more accurate the data will be to identify and address pollution hotspots through collective action." said Zoltán Massay-Kosubek, Policy Manager of the European Public Health Alliance and campaign leader of the Clean Air for Health campaign.

In our country, PM_2.5 from domestic heating is the highest in the European Union, accounting for up to 83 per cent of all PM_2.5 emissions during the heating season. One reason for this is the often poor quality of solid fuels, another is the use of inefficient boilers and the poor energy efficiency of buildings.

Transport is responsible for a large share of particulate matter emissions in the summer, mainly due to the use of outdated diesel vehicles.

The aim of the Measure with us campaign is to make the public take ownership of the problem by installing their own meters: make air pollution as basic information as the daily temperature. The data measured are indicative, but the more instruments that are installed, the more reliable they are as a complement to the official monitoring stations. Judit Szegő, environmental scientist and project leader of the Clean Air Action Group, said. The Measure with Us campaign and the related meteorological website, metnet.hu, which also shows the measured data on a map, are intended to help in this." She added that experience has shown that by purchasing the device, residents become part of a measuring network, which strengthens the community, with many enthusiastically sharing their measurement results with their neighbours.

The Clean Air Action Group welcomes applications from sponsors who would be willing to help finance the installation of meters for community purposes, for example in municipalities where the meters cannot be rolled out by the population or the municipality.

All relevant information on the meter can be found on the Measure with us and MetNet websites, and a map is available here.

1 https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/2020-country-fact-sheets/hungary

2 https://www.levego.hu/hirek/2021/02/elkerulheto-lett-volna-a-magyarorszagot-a-legszennyezes-miatt-elmarasztalo-mai-europai-birosagi-itelet/

3 http://www.futsokosankampany.hu/a-helytelen-tuzeles-egeszsegugyi-hatasai

4 https://www.levego.hu/hirek/2020/06/tiszta-levegovel-a-koronavirus-jarvany-kovetkezo-hullama-ellen/

5 http://www.levegominoseg.hu/automata-merohalozat