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Air pollution is currently considered a major public health problem responsible for increasing morbidity and mortality. Polluted air contributes to the global burden of respiratory and allergic diseases, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia and possibly tuberculosis. Deteriorated air quality is closely linked to the amount of anthropogenic emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere. These have different origins – from industrial and energy sources, through emissions from transport to small sources from local household heating. Air pollution is a heterogeneous mixture of compounds that includes ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, liquids, volatile organic compounds, heavy metals and solid particles. In this paper, we monitored the development of air pollution by selected emissions in the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic. We obtained data from the OECD database for the years 2000–2018. We monitored particulate matter (PM2.5, PM10), NMVOC (non-methan volatile organic compounds), NOX (nitrogen oxides), SOX (sulphur oxides) and CO (carbon monoxide). We also compared total emissions per country in terms of per capita. In the monitored period, we found an overall declining trend in the production of emissions of particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, carbon monoxide and non-methane volatile organic compounds in the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2013 municipalities in the Czech Republic are allowed to implement low emission zones (LEZs), which are supposed to improve air quality in urban areas. Nevertheless, no LEZs have been implemented in any Czech city yet. Many critics of the introduction NEZ, referring to some international scientific studies, point out the negligible impacts of this measure. What are the real outcomes of scientific papers then? This meta-analysis analysed 15 primary studies, which conducted empirical research of LEZs' impacts on imissions of PM10, PM1.0 , soot and nitrogen oxides. According to the results of the meta-analysis, LEZs contributed to the reduction of annual average concentrations of PM10 by 3-9% and the number of exceedance days of PM10 by 7-20%. Several pilot studies showed significant effects of LEZs on reductions of fine particles (PM2.5). However, these outcomes can not be regarded as definite. On the contrary, a quite negligible impact of LEZs has been demonstrated in the case of changes in nitrogen oxides concentrations. Outcomes of German studies, besides other things confirm some authors' (1) statements on the non-functionality of the EU framework for Euro emission regulations regarding limits of nitrogen oxides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]