The Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation has prepared a report on the state and protection of the environment, according to which the environmental situation in the country has deteriorated noticeably over the past two years.

      Among the most polluted cities are Birobidzhan, Blagoveshchensk, Magnitogorsk, Norilsk, Ulan-Ude, Chita, and Krasnoyarsk.  Also in this list are the cities of Bratsk, Zima, Kyzyl, Minusinsk, Novokuznetsk, Petrovsk-Zabaikalsky, Selenginsk, Usolye-Sibirskoe, Chegdomyn, Cheremkhovo, Chernogorsk and Shelekhov.

      According to the rating, in most cities of the Far Eastern, Siberian and Ural federal districts, the concentration of pollutants exceeds the maximum permissible level. 

      The ministry stressed that over the past three years in Russia the situation with emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere has worsened. It is noted that in 2014-2016 in Russia the incidence of asthma associated with air pollution increased: among children - 1.7 times, and among adults - 1.5 times. 15% of the urban population are affected by high and very high levels of pollution.

      The greatest harm to health is caused by dust, fluorine and its compounds, ammonia, toluene, formaldehyde, benzapyrene, carbon monoxide, chlorine and its compounds, heavy metals, xylene, benzene, aliphatic hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, hydroxybenzene, hydrogen sulphide and other compounds.