Air pollution

FYR Macedonia has been ranked Europe's most polluted country with pollution spiking ten times over recommended levels. That's according to the European Environment Agency. Heavy traffic and the use of heating stoves are causing an increase in dangerous air and sending more and more people to the doctors.

Environmental NGOs and activists have condemned a government plan that sets aside only 1.6 million euros a year to tackle alarming levels of air pollution as farcical.

Today is a day for cleaner air in Sofia. The goal is people to realize that we are all part of the change to a clean environment for living. Municipal officials do not use their personal and business cars. In addition to state administrations, private companies and schools were also involved in the initiative.

MPs have raised demands on the quality of solid fuels used for domestic heating - mainly coal and briquettes. This is voted by the National Assembly with the amendments to the Clean Air Act at first reading.

There will be control over their  storage and distribution. The sanction regime for the mayors of municipalities is also expanding.

The European Commission has warned Bulgaria that it has failed to comply with the ruling of the Court of Justice of the EU on air quality, reported the Bulgarian National Radio. 

A year and a half ago the Court ruled that the country is not complying with the limit values for concentration of particulate matter in the atmosphere.

A protest against the dirty air is held this morning in Ruse.

Despite the mass dissatisfaction in the social network, only few people joined the action.

They had led their children with face masks to insist on fresh air in the city.

Air pollution with fine particles has led in 2015 to the premature death of 14,200 people in Bulgaria. This was shown by a study of the European Environment Agency covering 41 European countries. It is an updated version of the report covering the period 2000-2016.

Air pollution is slowly easing in EU countries but still causes nearly half a million early deaths each year, the European Environment Agency (EEA) said in its annual report published Monday, reports AFP. 

Although pollution levels dropped slightly in 2015, they remain far higher than standards set by both the European Union and the World Health Organization, the report said.

Sofia. Speaking about raising the tax on old cars, we should bear in mind that they are one of the two main air pollutants, Minister of Environment and Water Neno Dimov told Nova TV. It is about health and investment in health, he said.

Tests carried out by the National Observatory of Athens (NOA) to measure air quality in the parts of east Attica hit by deadly wildfires last July were reassuring, with only one of the six pollutants gauged showing higher readings.

The results of the checks, conducted in Mati and Rafina, were presented Tuesday by the Region of Attica.