Sarajevo suffocates from air pollution

Video. Sarajevo suffocates from air pollution

Air pollution is reaching dangerous levels in several cities in the Balkans with the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo hit worst and enveloped in dense smog coming from coal-fired plants, cars and coal heaters still used in many households.

Air pollution is reaching dangerous levels in several cities in the Balkans with the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo hit worst and enveloped in dense smog coming from coal-fired plants, cars and coal heaters still used in many households.

Martin Tais, a climate change expert said: "Sarajevo is a large city, with 150,000 cars and some 100,000 houses that use coal for heating. The problem comes back to us every year.

"It is a city that was built at a height of 500 metres above sea level and is surrounded by high mountains. 

"It is, therefore, a valley where polluted substances are trapped through a phenomenon known as temperature inversion, which forms a cover."