Yerevan Mayor: Air  cleaner than it seems

ArmInfo.  Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan attempted  to convince the media and the public during a press conference on September 15 that the issue with air quality in the city is just  imaginary. To make his case, he presented data  recorded by sensors installed at construction sites in the capital,  where the PM 2.5 indicator (fine particles of dust and other  pollutants in the air) was, according to him, within the maximum  permissible concentration (MPC).

Avinyan assured that there are issues problems with air quality just  in winter. When Avinyan was asked about the lack of special dust  protection nets at construction sites, he said that two and a half  years ago, city authorities required builders to have the appropriate  equipment. In case of their absence, according to the mayor, the  latter are subject to fines. However, as the mayor noted, the fine is  a completely ridiculous amount of 70,000 AMD, and such a decision was  made not by the Council of Elders of Yerevan, but by the National  Assembly of  Armenia.

In this regard, the mayor spoke about a recently adopted decision,  according to which builders who do not comply with the equipment  requirements will lose the opportunity to take advantage of tax  benefits in 2026 - up to 75%.

He mentioned the upcoming programs for greening the city,  particularly, the construction of urban forests.  Avinyan also said  that the mayor's office has initiated a 4-year program  affecting the  mining industry, construction, and additional environmental  restrictions in  urban development. According to him, new  requirements will be applied to builders for planting trees in  accordance with the square meters under construction. 

Meanwhile, it is worth noting that the latest data (from August 20 to  26, 2025  https://armmonitoring.am/public/admin/ckfinder/userfiles/files/Dust/08-27-1.jpg ) of the  Hydrometeorological Center of Armenia indicate that the level of dust in the air exceeded the MPC  several times in the Nor-Nork administrative district (Gaya Avenue), in the center (Intersection of Surb  Grigor Lusavorich Street with Agatangeghos Street). Excess of the norm was also recorded in the Arabkir  (Komitas Avenue) and Shengavit (Arshakunyants Street) administrative districts. In terms of nitrogen  dioxide (http://armmonitoring.am/public/admin/ckfinder/userfiles/files/Dust/08-27-2.jpg ) it almost  several times exceeds the norm in the Kentron administrative district (Intersection of Surb Grigor  Lusavorich Street with Agatangehosa Street), as well as in Nor-Nork (Gay Avenue).

No deviations from the MPC were observed for sulfur dioxide (SO2)  during the specified period  (https://armmonitoring.am/public/admin/ckfinder/userfiles/files/Dust/08-27-3.jpg).

Note that PM 2.5 is considered one of the most dangerous components  of polluted air. These particles can cause or aggravate respiratory  diseases, cardiovascular diseases, allergies, and also affect overall  health.