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The stations themselves are largely outdated: they measure total dust, but do not split it into PM2.5 and PM10 fractions.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 · 58
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 · 41
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 resident Lusine Mkrtchyan filmed dust pouring down from unfinished buildings owned by ML Mining in Avan, next to the fields of the Football Academy where children train. The construction site is located about 300 meters from the academy, and this case shows how visible the problem of construction dust remains in the city.
Yerevan Municipality requires developers to use dust-catching nets, water cannons, dust suppression devices, store materials in enclosed areas, and install air quality monitoring equipment. Previously, fines ranged from 70,000 to 100,000 drams, which the municipality considered disproportionate to the costs of complying with the standards; as of August 29, 2026, a first violation carries a fine of 1.5–2 million drams, a repeat violation within a year carries a fine of 3–4 million drams, and work may be suspended for 5, 10, or up to 30 working days.
On the municipality’s page for the ML Mining construction site near the Football Academy, no air quality monitoring device was listed, and the video shows incomplete equipment. Ruben Khojayan, deputy head of the Urban Planning and Land Control Department, said that a water cannon, nets, and a connected online sensor had previously been recorded at this address, and called what was seen in the video unacceptable; after an inspection, the municipality provided photographs showing that, as of September 11, 2026, the site was equipped with nets and a water cannon.
The Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine and the Kapan Mining and Processing Plant have responded to the findings of the Czech organization Arnika on environmental pollution and the impact of heavy metals in the Kapan and Kajaran areas. The study was accompanied by recommendations for authorities, communities, and companies, including the installation of publicly accessible real-time air quality monitors, dust suppression measures, and the greening of tailings dam surfaces.
ZCMC, through its head of public relations, Araik Margaryan, questioned the methodology, the selection and storage of samples, as well as the export of biological samples to the Czech Republic, stating that the work does not meet the criteria for reliable scientific conclusions. David Danielyan, the general director of the Kapan MPP, also described the analysis as lacking a standard comparative methodological basis and said that some of the proposals are already reflected in current regulations; the company claims that it had proposed to Arnika representatives in Syunik and residents of Geghanush to compare monitoring data, but received no response.
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.
