The purpose of these Regulations is to set limits on concentrations of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and oxides of nitrogen, particulate matter and lead in ambient air in order to avoid, prevent or reduce harmful effects on human health and the environment as a whole. The Regulations provide for the establishment of limit values and the estimation of concentrations of the pollutants mentioned above in the ambient air, based on methods and criteria agreed by intergovernmental and regional bodies to which the Republic of Cyprus takes part, and to collect relevant and sufficient information regarding the above-mentioned concentrations of pollutants in the air. They also provide for the dissemination of information to the public, obtained through the measurements. In addition, they provide for the conservation or improvement of air quality by reducing the values of these pollutants. The Regulations, apart from the various threshold values of the above pollutants in the air, also specify alert thresholds. In case the alert thresholds are exceeded, the Minister has the obligation to inform the public. The Annexes of the present Regulations specify the minimum information that must be made available to the public. The adoption of the present Regulations is made under article 8 of the Air Quality Act of 2002.