Debrecen4U
December 10, 2025
Debrecen Ensures Safety with Internationally Standardized Calibration of the Green Guard Environmental Monitoring System
The Municipality of Debrecen confirms that the air quality measuring instruments of the Green Guard (Hungarian: Zöld Őrszem) Environmental Monitoring System are undergoing their planned annual calibration in line with international standards. This process ensures credibility and safeguards the health of Debrecen’s residents. City leaders and experts unanimously emphasize that the system is safe and operates with the same technology used in London.
In recent days, the Mikepércs Mothers for the Environment Association (Hungarian: Mikepércsi Anyák a Környezetért Egyesület) has published misleading statements on social media regarding the operation of the city’s air quality instruments. The municipality stresses that the system is functioning properly and that the internationally accepted annual calibration and comparison process is currently underway. For this purpose, all 16 city instruments, the backup unit, and one reference station of the National Air Pollution Measuring Network have been installed at a single location, where calibration and comparison are conducted using an independent, accredited measuring vehicle. This guarantees the accuracy of the data available to Debrecen’s residents.
Deputy Mayor Ákos Balázs underlined that the credibility of the Green Guard Environmental Monitoring System is its most important feature, ensured by calibrated instruments and the expertise of professors from the University of Debrecen. He added that any organization seeking to undermine this credibility is not only attacking the system but also the people of Debrecen.
Viktor Papp, leader of the Fidesz–KDNP parliamentary group, emphasized that the Mikepércs Mothers for the Environment Association continues to spread fear for political purposes, targeting both new and long‑established plants. He noted that the political affiliation of the association’s leader with the Tisza Party is well‑known, underscoring its role as a political actor rather than a civilian organization.
János Géber, professional manager of KER Debrecen Nonprofit Kft., explained that the international standard requiring annual calibration was introduced in January 2025. He highlighted that the system uses the same technology as London’s, and that calibration requires all instruments to be installed in one place. The process is overseen by ATOMKI experts, with a special measuring cart ensuring accuracy. Meanwhile, other Green Guard instruments remain continuously available online.
Dr. Zsófia Kertész, senior scientific fellow at ATOMKI, added that 18 instruments are currently involved in the measurement, equipped with sensors that monitor key air pollutants—including particulate matter in four fractions, nitrogen oxides, and ozone. She emphasized that the instruments have been validated internationally, with raw data processed on a server in England.
Calibration and measurement are scheduled between December 10 and 23, 2025, with reinstallation taking place between January 5 and 9. Once the instruments are restarted, air quality data will again be available online.
The Municipality of Debrecen assures residents that all processes are conducted to provide authentic, verified, and reliable information about the city’s air quality.
Source and photo credit: debrecen.hu
