Page 28 - bne_Magazine_June_2017

28 I Special report bne June 2017
Cities in the Western Balkans have the worst air pollution on the continent.
Eastern Europe counts cost of air pollution
Clare Nuttall in Bucharest and Valentina Dimitrievska in Skopje
excluded), alongside three Polish cities.
“Urban air pollution continues to rise
at an alarming rate, wreaking havoc on human health,” said Dr Maria Neira, WHO director, Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Deter- minants of Health, in a 2016 statement. On a more positive note, she added, “At the same time, awareness is rising and more cities are monitoring their air qual- ity. When air quality improves, global respiratory and cardiovascular-related illnesses decrease”.
Very few cities from Russia, Central
Asia and the Caucasus are included
in the study, although the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar, whose population has soared to 1.6mn, is shown to be severely affected by air pollution, with most of it caused by coal and other solid fuels burnt in the shantytowns of gers (traditional Mongolian felt tents) that now surround the city. The problem has become so great that enterprising locals are opening “clean air cafes” where customers can inhale fresh oxygen along with their cappuccinos.
The root causes of air pollution in cities across Eastern Europe and Eurasia show some similarities.
Car ownership is booming, adding to emis- sions especially in cities not built for large numbers of cars and that therefore suffer from high levels of congestion. As incomes remain relatively low, many of the cars are old, often second hand models imported from Western Europe or Japan. Auto markets are dominated by second hand car sales from Southeast Europe to Central Asia to Iran, where one MP claimed in
On some winter days Skopje residents say the city looks like
it has been attacked by chemical weapons. The smell of the air is terrible, leaving those who breathe it with a bitter taste in their mouth and watering eyes, and forcing some of them to wear protective masks.
Heavy smog is not very frequent in the Macedonian capital but it’s hard to shift once it envelops the city, which is sur- rounded by mountains on all sides. This allows the pollution from heavy traffic – mostly old cars – and smoke from wood- burning fires to accumulate when there is no wind or rain to disperse it.
Many residents of Skopje and other towns in Macedonia – Tetovo has the unenviable status of having the worst air pollution of any city in Europe – suffer from respiratory problems, as well as being at higher risk of heart disease,
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strokes and lung cancer. The local health authorities say 30%-35% of deaths dur- ing the winter in Skopje in the last few years were linked to air pollution.
World Health Organisation (WHO) data on PM10 and the smaller and more harmful PM2.5 particles shows that cities in the Western Balkans have the worst air pollution on the continent.
“Investments into solar and wind power have been held back by powerful hydrocarbon lobbies and confusing and ever-changing legislation”
Tetovo, the home of the Jugohrom Ferroalloys plant, is in first place, and Skopje in third. Cities from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Macedonia are close to the top of the list (if Turkey is
March that there were more than 1.25mn clunkers on the roads.
“Many of our cities are at a stage in their development were everybody