Particulates

Atmospheric pollution remains the biggest environmental threat for Europeans, according to an annual report by the European Environmental Agency (EEA) for 2013-14.

Sofia is the most polluted capital in Europe, showed data of the European Environment Agency.

On Friday, an operation was launched for measuring harmful emissions from exhaust gases of vehicles. Units of the Road Police and Executive Agency Automobile Administration will take part in the operation. It was organised by the Association Diabetes Type 2 and Climate Coalition - Bulgaria.

As of 10:00 hrs on October 7, an operation will be launched for measuring harmful emissions from exhaust gasses of vehicles in Sofia.

The initiative is organised by the Diabetes Type 2 Association and the Climate Coalition - Bulgaria.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) released a report that estimeted 8.2 million people died due to causes linked to air pollution. This number is unfortunately on the rise. The most harmful pollutant for human health is a particle found in smoke, smog, dust and lodges in the lungs causing long term health problems like asthma and chronic lung disease.

A coalition of 21 environmentalist groups and NGOs from across Macedonia is considering more protest marches as well as possible blockades of institutions and streets during February.

They accuse the authorities of failing to take relevant action against extremely high levels of air pollution in the capital and in several other towns.

Beijing ordered hundreds of factories to shut and allowed children to skip school as choking smog reached over 25 times safe levels on Dec. 1, casting a cloud over China's participation in Paris climate talks.

The European Commission is referring Belgium and Bulgaria to EU Court of Justice over persistently high levels of the dust particles which pose a major risk to public health.

Despite an obligation for Member States to ensure good air quality for citizens, air quality has been a problem in many places for a number of years now, according to a media statement of the EC.

Two perplexing events occurred in Sofia over the course of the past several days - yellow stains on the ground and a strange odor in the air. The streets and balconies across Sofia were all covered with yellow dust Monday.

Rain and … Saharan dust made for a muddy mix in southern Greece on Thursday and Friday, with vehicles in the greater Athens area looking like they just competed in a Paris-Dakar race.
A brownish-reddish hue hung over the Greek capital for most of Friday, a combination of low cloud cover and the Saharan dust carried by balmy southern winds.

Bulgaria remains the leader in the European Union in terms of air pollution, according to the World Health Organization.

The highest concentration of the two main types of particulates has been measured in Bulgaria, the WHO latest data has showed. Poland and Romania rank second and third in the negative rating.