Just checked the air quality around Europe and this seemed rather strange. I suspected possible wild fires or pollution coming from a Russian power plant, but couldn't find any info about that.
Also other sources like iqair say the air is good right now. Maybe just a mistake?

by starbraker7498

8 comments

  1. They are reopening the forbidden mines of Savonmaa to forge the steel to get railway access towards the western plains.

  2. Just some standard savonian slash-and-burn farming, propably.

  3. Check out ilmatieteenlaitos. They have the correct numbers. And I suspect the reason is because, just like in northern Savo, it was windy today and the streets are not yet cleaned, so it’s a sandstorm out there. Ergo crappy air quality. There was a *lot* of gravel used this winter, so there’s lots of it to be cleared up. Measurement station is in Olavinkatu, too, so that’s the old road through the centre of town, which is going to be worse for dust than, say, the bypass.

    for those that don’t understand: in winter, gravel is put down. When the snow melts, the gravel remains. So spring is a combination of fresh snow, snowmelt, all the winter’s trash (and dog mess), dirty water, filthy cars and gravel that’s on the paths. And until the streets get washed, either by rain or power washers, there is dust *everywhere*. Which gets whipped up by winds and makes for an unpleasant walking experience. They did the initial clearance of town in Kuopio this week, Helsinki was a couple of weeks ago.

  4. At first i though it was a nuclear fallout cloud map or something

  5. Rant: I’m extremely critical of that kind of representation of air quality. If there were a sufficient number of air quality stations, interpolating like that would be justifiable. But there are not.

    [The official air quality page at the Finnish Meteorological Institute](https://en.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/air-quality) shows today 2025-04-04 at 17 air quality index on red in Savonlinna and Siilinjärvi, and it’s purple in Savonlinna at 12. The indices are due to particulate matter < 10 µm (PM10).

    The one station in Savonlinna is called “Olavinkatu”, so it is next to that street. Now that there is no snow any more and there have been wind gusts, the sand used during winter becomes airborne and worsens the air quality,and as mentioned, studded tyres can lift more dust. In Siilinjärvi, the problematic station is “Sorakuja”, and the reason is likely similar. Even though the name of the street means ‘gravel alley’.

  6. Nah, Savonlinna is just so cool that women getting hot waves..

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