The Bosnian capital Sarajevo is struggling with extreme winter smog, which greatly affects the lives of its residents. Air traffic was stopped. The population was asked to stay in their homes.
The public health department recommended city residents avoid spending time outdoors if possible. Anyone who has to go out on the street should wear a face mask with a filter if possible to prevent damage to health, the authority said. On Thursday, the air quality index reached the critical value of 225. The smog mainly endangers heart and respiratory patients.
Dirty brown fog soup
A thick, dirty brown fog has been spreading over Sarajevo since late Wednesday evening. On Thursday, virtually nothing of the city could be seen from Trebevic Mountain. Only the top of the 172-meter-high Avaz Tower – the tallest building in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which houses the media group of the same name – stood out from the smog.
The boiler location promotes the formation of smog
Smog is a recurring problem every winter that makes life difficult for the residents of Sarajevo. The polluted air from heaters and cars mixes with the fog created by the location of the city’s watershed. Other major cities in the Balkans also suffer from air pollution in winter – such as the Serbian capital Belgrade and Skopje in North Macedonia.
3,300 Bosnians die every year from bad air
According to the World Bank, an estimated 3,300 people in Bosnia die prematurely each year due to air pollution, accounting for nine percent of the country’s total annual mortality rate. Sarajevo and the northwestern city of Banja Luka are responsible for approximately 16 percent of this health burden.
Source: Krone
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