The Air Quality Index turns pollutant measurements into a readable scale: the higher the value, the greater the health burden. In cities, fine particles PM2.5 and PM10 are especially important: they are not always visible or noticeable by smell, but they can travel deep into the respiratory system and bloodstream, causing irritation, micro-inflammation, asthma flare-ups, and additional strain on the heart and blood vessels.
We show the index and city trends so everyday decisions become easier: when to ventilate, when to reduce physical activity, which route to choose, and when the problem is not just a passing smell or smoke, but sustained pollution.
Armenia still does not have reference-grade stations for measuring PM2.5 and PM10 particles. That is why we collect data from available networks: Yerevan Municipality installs high-quality optical sensors, while civic initiatives and independent projects add coverage where official measurements are missing.
AirQuality.am also collects data from state monitoring stations. They are important as an official source, but their measurements are published with a long delay and do not provide an operational picture of the city.
In a Sputnik Armenia article, staff from the Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center explain how this process works: air passes through filters and tubes, then the samples are taken to a laboratory for analysis. As a result, the data usually describes the previous day rather than the current situation in the city.
The stations themselves are largely outdated: they measure total dust, but do not split it into PM2.5 and PM10 fractions. This means the data cannot be compared directly with modern air quality indexes. On the map, state stations are marked in blue, and you can inspect their readings separately. The list of these stations is available in the MeteoMonitoring.am source section.
µSv/h
We take background radiation data from GMCMap, an international sensor network based on Geiger counters. These measurements do not replace official radiation control, but they help track the current background and notice sharp deviations.
In Yerevan, the usual background often stays around 0.14-0.18 µSv/h. For comparison, in coastal New York or Paris, instruments may show only 0.05 µSv/h, while flat Berlin is around 0.08 µSv/h. Yerevan is much closer to Scandinavia or Asia: in Helsinki and Seoul, normal background is around the same 0.12-0.15 µSv/h, and in high-altitude Denver it can reach 0.22 µSv/h. Yerevan's background is explained by its elevation of about one kilometer above sea level and by the abundance of volcanic tuff and basalt around the city.
September 8 · Anton Vlasov · 19
The municipality announced a winning Chinese-Arab-Armenian consortium. Company names, technology, investment amount and construction dates have yet to be disclosed.
September 7 · Anton Vlasov · 17
Stove heating can comply with current rules and still pollute the air. Why Yerevan needs a programme to switch to cleaner heating, and what residents should demand from the authorities.
Yerevan’s mayor said a consortium of Chinese, Arab and Armenian companies had won the tender. The scope of work still needs to be agreed and contracts signed.
Read the full article on azatutyun.am →
“Consortium selected for Yerevan waste processing plant” on civilnet.am →
“Tender winner to finance waste plant construction” on panorama.am →
“A1+ publishes video of Avinyan’s waste plant tender announcement” on a1plus.am →
On August 25, the National Assembly of Armenia adopted the government program for 2026–2031, which includes a separate section devoted to environmental policy. The government defines its goals as the effective management of natural resources, the conservation of biodiversity, and the reduction of negative impacts on the environment, while also linking this course to Armenia’s upcoming presidency of COP17 of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity starting in October 2026.
The environmental section includes the harmonization of legislation with EU directives, the development of climate policy and economic mechanisms for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, including a carbon pricing system. Also planned are a nationwide air quality monitoring system with 16 modern stations and a reference laboratory, the expansion of 24/7 radiation monitoring, limiting water abstraction from the Ararat artesian basin to 926 million cubic meters per year, ecosystem-based management of Lake Sevan, about 10,000 hectares of afforestation and reforestation, the digitalization of environmental permits, and the strengthening of environmental education.
AirQuality.am publishes open air quality data so measurements can be checked, reused, and analyzed independently. The file exports include raw and processed data for stations, cities, and districts, suitable for research, journalism, visualizations, and long-term pollution analysis.
For apps, maps, and widgets, the API is usually more convenient: it can return the station list, current readings, and historical aggregates without downloading the full archive. Available requests and examples are described in the API documentation. When using the data, please keep a link to AirQuality.am as the source.
