Air Quality in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Highlights

There is a historical problem with ambient air quality in several urban areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sarajevo is prone to heavy fog in winter that converts into smog when mixed with high pollution levels. Combined with weak wind or a stable anticyclone, pollutants persist in the city's air for a prolonged period, causing peaks in the particulate matter (PM) concentrations, posing significant health risks to the residents. Major sources of pollutants’ emissions in Sarajevo are residential heating, traffic and some point sources such as industrial plants. In the industrial city of Tuzla the values of the PM10 are regularly above the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina legislation limits[, with peaks at over 300 µg/m³. According to the WHO's database of annual air pollution readings (2017), Tuzla was the second most polluted city in Europe after Tetovo. The two largest polluters (Kakanj's thermal power plant and ArcelorMittal steel plant) in the Zenica area emit an annual 90,000 tons of SO₂, which accounts for over 20% of the total SO₂ emissions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The emission sources in the Zenica - Doboj Canton participate with 72% into the total emission of PM particles from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In Republika Srpska, according to official statistics, number of daily exceedances in 2015 of the PM10 limit value registered in Brod are 142, Ugljevik 26, Gacko 61 and Banja Luka - Center 67.