As the temperatures decrease, the citizens of Kosovo’s capital Prishtina face a serious problem with air pollution.
Prishtina is positioned only 12 km far from a coal power plant, which World Bank has called the worst single-point source of pollution in Europe.
The real time data on air quality is shared publicly by the US Embassy in Prishtina which keeps monitoring it.
Tuesday morning according the US embassy the air quality was “unhealthy for sensitive groups”.
Last year Prishtina was listed as one of the cities suffering from the worst air quality in the world. It ranked as the number four most polluted [October 2019], Prishtina Insight reported.
Considering the health complications it might cause during COVID- 19 pandemic, the mayor of Prishtina, Shpend Ahmeti said that wearing masks might be helpful, while proposed some other measures.
Two things he said can be changed; private houses using coal for heating to be connected to the city’s central heating system, in a period of five years. Also, he added that a solution would be a Congestion Charge for driving in populated parts of the city which can lead to an increase in pollution.
However, Prishtina is entering November without any solutions for its citizens facing pollution in the midst of a global pandemic.
