On April 2, 2025, the LIFE IP HungAIRy team from Debrecen presented at the ACROSS project conference. They showcased the city’s air-quality-improving pilot action - including the planting of shelterbelts - to international partners.

The Interreg Central Europe EnCLOD project promotes the use of open data and IoT (Internet of Things) devices within government and public services. Its aim is to raise living standards and improve the efficiency of institutions and businesses. The initiative supports the adoption of these technologies across Central Europe among both authorities and citizens. Participating countries include Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary.

Five pilot actions are included in the EnCLOD project, offering concrete solutions for mobility, transportation, environmental protection, and climate change challenges in the regions involved. Some are supported by strong legal frameworks and active platforms, while others are only beginning to explore the potential of open data.

Debrecen is represented in the project by DKV Debreceni Közlekedési Ltd., the city's public transport operator.

Alongside presentations from international partners and DKV Ltd., HungaroMet, the Hungarian Meteorological Service, also presented their achievements. They’ve secured a 10 billion HUF grant under the Digital Renewal Operational Program Plus to create a public meteorological-climatological portal. This platform will facilitate climate adaptation by enabling easy access to data.

Their aim is to build a database that integrates historical, digital, and new measurement network data. It will support Big Data-based climate and weather forecasting and help citizens adapt to climate change. Work includes expanding their reference network (currently 150 stations), setting up databases, implementing an IT quality-control system, and establishing suitable storage systems for data.

They will install approximately 1,500 non-accredited monitoring devices, process and validate their data, and make it publicly available. As part of the project, paper-based meteorological data will be digitized. These digital and IT innovations will help Hungary continuously monitor, analyze, prevent negative impacts, and reduce risks from climate change.

The LIFE IP HungAIRy Debrecen team was represented by Gyula Dézsi, the project manager. In the first part of his presentation, he introduced the overall project, whose goal is to improve air quality. He then explained the pilot action in Debrecen, including how suitable areas were identified for dust-filtering shelterbelts, the implementation of planting in 2022, and the expected results of afforestation.

In the second part, attendees learned about the work of eco-managers and how Debrecen’s air quality management plan was developed.

Debrecen is increasingly involved in international projects, which offers an excellent opportunity for the HungAIRy team to raise awareness about itself, the pilot actions and their expected outcomes on an international level, as well as to build partnerships. The project is currently in its dissemination and awareness-raising phase, making it a perfect fit for the programmes of international project conferences and workshops.

Source: futureofdebrecen.hu