Burdened regions are declared on the basis of the Decree of the Ministry of the Environment SR No. 112/1993 Coll. on the definition of regions requiring special air protection and on the operation of smog signal and regulation systems. Region declared burdened is at least 50 square kilometres large and:

•  an individual annual AQS_y ambient air quality limit is exceeded
•  half-hour or daily AQS_d ambient air quality limits of two pollutants of SO₂, NO_x, SPM and CO are exceeded in more that 5% of cases
•  bad smell pollutants are present in concentrations bothering the population.

Basic parameters of Burdened Territories
 

Territory	Extent (ha)	Number of inhabitants	Number of inhabitants per km2
Banská Bystrica	17 157	90 048	525
Bratislava	40 028	445 030	1 112
Hnúšťa - Tisovec	20 555	12 059	59
Horná Nitra	95 984	138 537	144
Jelšava - Ľubeník	9 414	5 414	58
Košice	29 637	240 144	810
Prešov	7 118	87 765	1 233
Ružomberok	22 269	42 343	190
Strážske - Vranov - Humenné	22 395	72 841	325
Stredný Spiš	19 584	24 384	125
Žiarska kotlina	19 334	30 171	156
Žilina	8 652	85 696	991
Total	312 127	1 188 635	-

Source: ŠÚ SR

Emissions of SPM, SO₂, NO_x and CO in the burdened regions of the SR by total stationary sources
 

	Trend in emissions of SPM in the burdened regions of the SR by total stationary sources (in thousands
	tonnes per year)
	Trend in emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2) in the burdened regions of the SR by total stationary
	sources (in thousands tonnes per year)
	Trend in emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the burdened regions of the SR by total stationary
	sources (in thousands tonnes per year)
	Trend in emissions of carbon monoxide (CO) in the burdened regions of the SR by total stationary
	sources (in thousands tonnes per year)