KYIV – Ukraine’s capital topped the live Air Quality and Pollution City Ranking on April 16 and 17, as the city with the dirtiest air in the world. Its Air Quality Index (AQI) was the highest for those two days at 380. Two Chinese cities followed Kyiv – Shenyang with 180 and Chengdu with 171.
The Kyiv City State Administration explained the phenomenon by citing wildfires in the Zhytomyr region and forest fires in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, as well as northwest wind gusts. “The radiation background is within the norm,” local authorities assured the public. However, they called on residents of Kyiv to limit time spent outdoors, keep windows closed (especially at night and early in the morning), use air conditioning equipment and air purifiers, and drink up to three liters of water a day. Earlier, the city and surrounding areas suffered a dust and sand storm.