Air pollution

Construction activities at major infrastructure sites in Bangkok have been halted due to air pollution, according to the Nation newspaper.

Construction of skyscrapers, new road junctions and new subway lines has been halted for 72 hours, the release said.

The director of the Environmental Protection Agency, Filip Radovic, told RTS that the change of meteorological conditions eliminated the thermal inversion which, during the day at high temperatures and clear nights, kept the concentration of pollutants at a high level.

Amid complaints that Serbia is importing too many ancient, high-polluting cars, the government is reportedly considering banning the further import of so-called Euro 3 cars - passenger vehicles that meet the EU emissions standards set for 2000 to 2005.

Volkswagen's German carmaker fined €135m by a Toronto court after pleading guilty to 58 counts of violating Canadian environmental laws in a worldwide scandal for manipulating data on the diesel emissions of his cars, France Press and DPA reported.

The number of early deaths caused by air pollution in Greece is nearly double the European Union average, according to research.

Data from the European Environment Agency show that there were 16,440 early deaths in Greece in 2016 due to exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3). 

When is unhealthy air acceptable air? In the Balkans, it depends who you believe: mobile apps or state data.

The quality of air in the region has become a hot topic since the capitals of Bosnia and Serbia, Sarajevo and Belgrade, made the top 10 in the list of most polluted cities on the planet.

According to Belgrade media, the meeting will be held at 3 pm, with the Ministers of Environment, Health and Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, Republic Hydro-meteorological Institute, representatives of the City of Belgrade, Ministry of Internal Affairs, etc.

Only fog, fog that has to do with air pollution or "just" smog, has been an issue that has plagued Belgraders for days.

The Swedish embassy to Bosnia, a long-time advocate of tougher air pollution action in the country, tweeted that Sarajevo was "in a category of its own" as the air pollution levels on Saturday were so high that categorizing the health hazard level made no sense. It called for urgent action.

Elevated levels of fine particulate matter in the air in Sofia. According to the map, published and provided by Аirsofia.info, the air is polluted in almost the entire city, except for a few areas near Vitosha.
Due to the increased levels of fine particulate matter, parking spaces near metro stations will be free of charge throughout the day.