Marina Arabidze, Head of the Air Pollution Monitoring Department at the National Environmental Agency, stated that arecent increase in the concentration of airborne particulate matter over Georgia has been caused by periodic inflows of desert dust from the south and south-east.
Arabidze stressed that the current haze does not signify a new or unusual phenomenon for the country. The movement of dust masses across Georgia is recorded intermittently throughout the year and the persistence of pollution during the past few days has been worsened by calm weather conditions.
The country has had no rainfall, either rain or snow, for an extended period, and an absence of wind has prevented the dispersal of particles. Arabidze said that this has allowed the temporary pollution to remain in the air longer than usual.
Georgia’s National Environmental Agency conducts continuous monitoring of air quality through a network of 18 automatic observation stations nationwide, providing real-time tracking of main indicators including PM10 and PM2.5 levels.
The situation is expected to improve naturally once relevant meteorological processes resume. Arabidze noted that the reduction of particle concentration will depend on the development of precipitation, stronger air currents, or wind, all of which help to clear suspended dust from the atmosphere.
