- Title: Bosnia's Sarajevo struggles with 'hazardous' air pollution
- Date: 23rd January 2025
- Summary: SARAJEVO, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA (JANUARY 22, 2025) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF LAYER OF FOG AND SMOG COVERING SARAJEVO (MUTE) VARIOUS DRONE SHOTS OF FOG AND POLLUTION OVER CITY SARAJEVO, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA (JANUARY 23, 2025) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING IN STREET (SOUNDBITE) (Bosnian) LOCAL RESIDENT, KENAN HIDIC, SAYING: "The other day while I was walking, I choked so
- Embargoed: 6th February 2025 11:59
- Keywords: Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo air pollution air pollution in the Balkans air quality fossil fuels particle pollution
- Location: SARAJEVO, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
- City: SARAJEVO, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
- Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Topics: Pollution,Environment,Europe
- Reuters ID: LVA001561123012025RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: People in Bosnia's capital Sarajevo said they were struggling to cope with air pollution in the city on Wednesday (January 23) a day after one environmental monitor said it topped the charts for the dirtiest air.
"I choked so much that I felt nauseous", said local resident Kenan Hidic, while another who gave her name as Sefika said she could also hardly breathe.
Sarajevo's air quality was classed as "hazardous" on Tuesday (January 22) according to IQAir, which tracks pollution levels.
The city has almost no polluting industries, as they were destroyed during Bosnia's war in the 1990s, but lies in a valley surrounded by mountains and hills.
Due to its location it has long suffered from a phenomenon known as temperature inversion which presses colder air and pollutants from vehicles and fossil fuels closer to the ground.
Mixed with fog, it can stick around for days, meaning the city often suffers with pollution in the winter.
Pollution in Western Balkan countries remains stubbornly high due to household heating, outdated coal plants, old cars, and a lack of money to tackle the problem.
despite their relatively small size, Sarajevo and Serbia's capital Belgrade frequently top daily global pollution charts, according to websites that track air quality worldwide.
This not only has costly health impacts, but could also jeopardize such countries' prospects of joining the European Union, which has stricter emissions standards.
(Production: Amel Emric, Fedja Grulovic, Lewis Macdonald) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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