Smog

The authorities in the Indian capital said they shut down all schools after air pollution levels skyrocketed and raised concerns about public health, the ND TV channel said.

Alternate Transport Minister Nikos Mavraganis told lawmakers on Thursday that he will be introducing regulations prohibiting private cars and taxis that have not passed a road worthiness test (KTEO) from being insured.

A few days after the European Commission announced that car emissions will be reported in real terms, a team of the Spanish RSLab, which will remotely measure vehicle emissions temporarily and without the need to stop them, is coming to the capital. This was announced by the Sofia Municipality.

The European Commission has warned for the final time Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the UK about systematic violation of the restrictions of the European Union regarding air pollution, announced the press centre of the commission.

The Environment Ministry on Monday issued a warning against the use of fireplaces and wood-burning stoves amid concerns of a build-up of toxic smog, especially in cities.

The ministry said that prevailing conditions on Monday and Tuesday of low winds and rising temperatures are conducive to the accumulation of particulates in the atmosphere that cause smog.

Heavy smog in northern China yesterday caused hundreds of flights to be cancelled and highways to shut, disrupting the first day of the new year holiday. 

Large parts of the north were hit by hazardous smog in mid-December, leading authorities to order hundreds of factories to close and to restrict motorists to cut emissions. 

China's smoggiest city closed schools Dec. 21 as much of the country suffered its sixth day under an oppressive haze, sparking public anger about the slow response to the threat to children's health.

Since Dec. 16, a choking miasma has covered a large swathe of northeastern China, leaving more than 460 million gasping for breath.

In its annual report on air quality in Europe on Wednesday, the Copenhagen-based European Environment Agency (EEA) attributed the premature deaths of hundreds of thousands of Europeans to coal and biomass burning industries, power plants and household.

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.