Air pollution in Skopje will increase by 30 percent until 2025 unless something is done quickly, the Eko Svest environmental group said today.

The group is calling for a ban on the use of coal for heating over winter, limits on the movement of vehicles in the center of the city and strict bans on vehicles that don’t meet environmental standards. The group said that about a third of the measures proposed by the United Nations in 2019 are being implemented in Macedonia, which they say is not enough.

A 2019 EU report showed that Macedonia has the highest concentration of PM2.5 particles. According to the report, air pollution causes the early death of 3,400 citizens and PM10 particles are blamed for the death of 1,350 citizens. Skopje, Tetovo, Kicevo and Bitola are the worst polluted cities in the country, Eko Svest said.