You can now see what you breathe at the Silesian Park

Even better, you can do this before heading outside

Visitors to the Silesian Park can now check the quality of the air they breathe, thanks to new devices installed last week, the park authorities informed. The recreational area, located in the so-called Silesian Metropolis in Southern Poland, is also referred to as the Green Lungs of Silesia. It now boasts five eco columns, which show the level of air pollution on a colour-coded scale.

What is more, thanks to a smartphone application, readings can be made remotely – even before leaving home and heading to the park.

Visualizing air pollution

As of 22 October, it is possible to check the air quality at the Silesian Park at any time of the day. This is a feature that has become increasingly important at the start of the heating season in Poland, which is associated with higher levels of air pollution due to the popularity of heat appliances burning solid fuel.

There are now reading columns installed in five locations of the park. But one does not need to be there in person in order to stay informed of the current state of air quality as the "EkoSłupek" free mobile app (available on Google Play and Apple Appstore), was developed to provide this information remotely and conveniently.

Each column has a light on top which indicates the state of air on a six-colour scale. It ranges from green, standing for very good air quality, where the content of harmful particles is between 0 and 10, to dark red - for very bad air quality, where the dust content exceeds 150. In between, there is light green, indicating good quality; yellow for moderate; orange – for fair and red for bad air.

Improving air quality for the visitors of the Silesian Park

For the last 70 years, the Silesian park (formerly known as Voivodeship Park of Culture and Recreation) has turned into an oasis of greenery; a preferred place for sports enthusiasts, tourists and the residents of the town of Chorzów, with over 100 000 inhabitants. With an area of 535 hectares, the facility constructed during the Soviet era is one of the largest downtown parks in Europe.

Its popularity stems from the fact that apart from extensive green areas, you will find there a sports stadium and sports complexes, a zoological garden, planetarium and amusement and ethnographic parks, to name but a few of the attractions. In a usual year, over 3 million people visit the park according to its official website, therefore the new measurement devices have great potential to improve the health and life quality for many in the forthcoming months.