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The stations themselves are largely outdated: they measure total dust, but do not split it into PM2.5 and PM10 fractions.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 28 · Anton Vlasov · 259
What Yerevan City Hall said about measures to tackle air pollution, and which questions about timelines, heating, funding and results it left unanswered.
September 27 · Anton Vlasov · 153
We examine the Armenian Ministry of Environment's response on implementation of the 2025–2030 air protection program: what we learned and which questions remain open.
Yerevan Municipality is holding parallel discussions with two Chinese companies about a waste-processing project at the city’s landfill. Mayor Tigran Avinyan said this at a joint meeting of the standing committees of Armenia’s parliament during preliminary discussions of the draft state budget for 2027. According to the mayor, the talks should help determine which company can carry out the project.
Separately, work is underway to close the existing landfill. The Nubarashen landfill is one of Yerevan’s main sites for household waste disposal. Avinyan did not specify the timeline for the new project or the final terms for investor participation.
The Inspection Body for Nature Protection and Mineral Resources identified numerous violations at the landfill operated by Ankolo LLC. On one 1-hectare section, waste was leveled and buried without a favorable environmental impact assessment, while the requirements of such an assessment were not fully met on another 2-hectare section.
Waste at the landfill was only partially compacted and covered with soil; no system was installed to collect and drain rainwater and leachate, and washing equipment was not kept operational. In addition, waste was dumped on 1,404 square meters of agricultural land, causing damage to land resources. The company’s operations have been suspended, and its director was fined AMD 5,430,000. The company was also ordered to pay AMD 26,535 in compensation and remedy the violations.
Read the full article on ecoinspect.gov.am →
“Landfill operations in Jrvezh suspended; director fined AMD 5.4 million” on arm.sputniknews.ru →
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.
