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Response to air quality problems
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Principal tools employed by the city authorities against air pollution are the drafting and approval of city decrees and city budgets, approval of land-use and strategic plans. Offices are instrumental in performing other functions of state administration and local governments, such as granting building licences, conducting Environmental Impact Assessments for new capital investment and development projects, keeping track of and levying charges upon air pollution sources, running fuel conversion programmes etc. As to crisis management functions, the city operates and maintains the Smog Regulation System (SRS). The city has additional professional institutions which participate in its management processes from the viewpoint of environmental issues. The City Development Authority of Prague prepares supporting information and documents for the land-use plan and formulates conceptual programmes for future development of the city, and is one of the parties involved in the assessment of capital investment projects and building licence proceedings. There is a specialised environmental unit within the Authority the main responsibility of which is the preparation of supporting data for the land-use plan of the city. Another department specialising in environmental information issues, collection and collation of data from different sources, management of databases and GIS layers, preparation of outputs for the city management, experts and general public exists at the Institute of Municipal Informatics of the City of Prague. City-sponsored projects include, for example, the Environmental Information System of Prague (IOZIP) and other related projects – ATEM (air quality modelling), REZZO (updating and management of data on air pollution sources), SCOL (a pilot project monitoring organic compounds), and PREMIS (a project providing access to operational data from the Automatic Immission Monitoring System and other information by means of Intranet/Internet). Prague smog control system in 1997Comparing the number of days on which a warning by Smog Control System (SCS) of a possible smog situation was issued with previous years, there was an overall decrease in the whole territory of the Czech Republic (1995 - 62 days, 1996 - 42 days, 1997 - 40 days). Owing to very poor dispersion conditions especially in January the number of days on which restrictions were imposed was slightly higher (1995 - 14 days, 1996 - 6 days, 1997 - 11 days). The month of January accounted for 36 out of the total of 40 warning days and for all of the restriction days. Compared to 1996 the number of warning days in Prague increased by one but there were no automotive traffic restrictions imposed in 1997. Distribution of days with SCS signals for all smog areas of the Czech Republic
Source:
CHMÚ Because of unfavourable dispersion conditions a warning was issued for the period from January 14 till January 20, 1997. However, the concentrations were not high enough to justify traffic restriction measures. While concentrations of nitrogen oxides reached high values (up to 600 µg.m-3) for short periods of time, they invariably dropped around noon and in nighttime hours. Another warning signal was issued between November 7 and 10, 1997. In this case too, the concentration of pollutants was not high enough to justify imposing regulatory measures. The operation of Smog Control Systems in the Czech Republic has been extended to the warm season as well, when near-ground concentrations of ozone become a major concern. As a rule, the highest concentrations occurring for a longer period of time were previously confined to April and May. During 1997 conditions favouring the formation of high concentrations of ozone did not materialize. The special ozone concentration imission limit of 180 µg.m-3 was recorded by a few monitoring stations in the Czech Republic during the year. In Prague, the limit was exceeded only for two hours at the Libuš station (191 µg.m-3) and for one hour in Kobylisy (183 µg.m-3). Smog Contingency Measures, Air Pollution Charges Crucial activities of the Department of Environment of the Prague City Hall include contingency measures instituted in cooperation with other authorities during a smog situation, as well as keeping track of, levying and collecting charges payable by medium-sized air pollution sources under Act No. 389/1991. Medium-sized air pollution sources paying appropriate charges to the Department of Environment of the Prague City Hall as of September 1, 1997
Source: OZP MHMP Review of measures instituted under the Smog Ordinance since 1992
* New Smog Ordinance No. 58/1996 of the City Council of the Prague City Hall - regulations of stationary sources and traffic restrictions are declared and instituted simultaneously. number/days = number of instances/duration Source: OZP MHMP Smog alarms declared and called off in 1997/1998
Source: OZP MHMP Issues of a photochemical smog warning signal in 1998
Source: OZP MHMP Stationary air pollution sources affected by regulatory measures (as of October 1, 1998)
Source: OZP MHMP Medium-sized air pollution sources affected by regulatory measures (as of October 1, 1998)
Source: OZP MHMP Analysis of air quality measurement network In 1998, the National Institute of Public Health (SZÚ) undertook an analysis the purpose of which was to optimize the network of monitoring stations operated by the Public Health Office in the territory of Prague. The project made use of data acquired between 1991 and 1997 by a total of 24 stations operated by the Public Health Office and the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (13 AIM stations and manual and semi-automatic stations of the Public Health Office). A list of the stations, including their locations, is presented in Chapter 1B.1. The analysis was based on an evaluation of imission data and an assessment of the exposure of population in accordance with recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO). Model-based evaluation of air quality (ATEM project) Between 1997 and 1998, the ATEM project was focusing on the following four principal areas: • an evaluation of the new emission and imission situation in the territory of Prague in the framework of the Updating 1998 project (the completion date of which was later than the closing date of the 1998 Yearbook) • an assessment of plans and intentions laid down in the draft Land-Use Plan of the City of Prague from the viewpoint of the air quality anticipated in the year 2010 • an evaluation of capital investment/development plans by means of alternative model calculations (supporting data for Environmental Impact Assessments, land-use planning, land-use rulings) • consulting services provided to public servants working for city authorities. The purpose of the exercise was to assess plans and intentions laid down in the Land-Use Plan from the viewpoint of the air quality in the territory of Prague as of the year 2010. The changes were compared against the 1996 benchmark (the latest completely updated set of data for Prague). The results show that the implementation of the intentions set forth in the Land-Use Plan will have a positive impact on the air quality in Prague. More specifically, there should be, in particular, a significant decrease in concentrations of suspended particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, and carbon monoxide. Similarly, there will be slight improvement of the overall average imission load of nitrogen oxides. The situation will get worse along new roads, but the city as a whole (including its centre) will show an improvement. The changes are a logical consequence of the trend the beginnings of which date back to the early 1990s. Positive changes cannot be expected especially insofar as concentrations of nitrogen oxides in the close vicinity of major roads. Results of the model calculations confirm that, in spite of the fast renovation of the rolling stock, there will be a slight local deterioration of the present imission load due to a dramatic growth of automotive traffic.
Alternative model calculations permit to
evaluate the impact of every capital investment project, plan, or
concept on the quality of air in Prague, and to seek solutions
minimizing the impact of every new or refurbished source on the
quality of the air in its close vicinity. The studies undertaken
since 1996 include, for example, the gas-steam heat generation plant
in the seventh district of Prague (Holešovice); conversion of the
heating system of Narex company in the tenth district to gas; the
New Smíchov commercial and cultural center in the fifth district and
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What is being done to
fix the problems ? 
Alternative calculation -
draft Land-Use Plan, outlook in the year 2010 
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