Air pollution causes premature deaths in Balkans

Air quality in the Western Balkan countries is among the worst in Europe. Air pollution in Balkans is spiking again, harming people’s health. The peoples that live in this area live less due to the air pollution. The World Health Organization made public recently a report on how the air pollution reduces peoples lives. Air quality in the Balkans in December last year was critical, a fact that seeking action from responsible authorities, governments, and fellow citizens, because all of those peoples are breathing from this pollution air, that is detrimental to their health. For example, concentrations of PM10, one of the most harmful air pollutants, have been recorded across national and EU borders and far above the WHO guidelines. Referring to this report, Albanians will live 0.23 years of life/person more if their country will reduce air pollution based on the standards of the World Health Organization. The same report underlines that in Kosovo, if the air pollution will improve, citizens will live 0.37 years of life/person more, in Serbia 0.73 years of life/person, Macedonia 0.59 years of life/person and Montenegro 0.26 years of life per person. According to WHO figures, the Southeast European region is losing its 19 percent-of-GDP equivalent to costs associated with premature deaths from air pollution. These rates are much lower in Western Europe. These situations can be found throughout the Western Balkans. Bosnia and Herzegovina is struggling with air pollution, as well as Serbian and Macedonian cities. For example, in those heavily affected coal combustion sites, such as Obrenovac in Serbia, PM levels reached sky high levels of 645 μg / m3; Pljevlja in Montenegro has read 562 μg / m3. The Western Balkan countries of Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Kosovo are together home to about 15 thermal power stations, on which they are highly dependent. Air quality has been alarmingly, unhealthy in most Western Balkan countries with the PM2.5 peaks reaching dangerous levels several days in early December; above 300 μg / m3 PM2.5. Acceptable PM2.5 levels are 0-12 μg / m3 (good air quality) and 13-35 μg / m3 (average air quality, 24-hour average). One of the main sources of air pollution in the Western Balkan countries is the burning of coal and electricity production in coal power plants. The newest Alliance for Health and Environment (HEAL) report estimates that coal plants in five Western Balkan countries create up to 8.5 billion euros annually on health spending and 7.181 premature deaths per year in Europe. The damage is suffered not only by those living in the region but by people in other European countries, affected by pollution carried in the winds.