Türkiye’s air quality improved by 16 pct: Ministry

ANKARA

The air quality of Türkiye’s all 81 provinces has improved by 16 percent on average in the last five years, the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry has announced.

According to the statement made by the ministry, Türkiye’s air, water and soil quality is monitored constantly at the Department of Laboratory, Measurement and Monitoring of the Directorate General of Environmental Impact Assessment, Permit and Inspection.

In this context, while the air quality of all provinces is monitored 24/7 with a total of 365 air quality monitoring stations, when the five-year air quality is evaluated, an average improvement of 16 percent in air quality was achieved, including 4 percent in particulate matter parameter, 46 percent in sulfur dioxide parameter, 18 percent in carbon monoxide parameter, 3 percent in nitrogen dioxide parameter and 8 percent in ozone parameter, the ministry stated.

Meanwhile, according to Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change Minister Mehmet Özhaseki, the construction of 500 public gardens will be finished by 2028, adding 100 million square meters of green space to all 81 provinces of Türkiye.

The public gardens project, described as the “largest green space initiative in the history of the Republic,” has already delivered more than 17 million square meters of green space across 151 gardens since 2018.

By the end of 2023, the ministry had originally planned to establish 81 million square meters of public gardens throughout all the country’s provinces, increasing the total square foot of green space per person.

On the other hand, this target has been modified based on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s directives to include 500 national gardens with a combined area of 100 million square meters by 2028.