Macedonia introduces emergency measures as smog chokes capital

SKOPJE: Macedonia took emergency measures against dense smog enveloping its cities, an annual winter scourge in the Western Balkans blamed on a mix of coal burning, ageing industry and high-polluting emissions from older vehicles. The government said residents of Skopje and Tetovo had been granted free travel on trains and buses to discourage use of cars while those with chronic illnesses and pregnant women were excused from work. Outdoors sports activities were also banned. Local media said shops ran out of face masks as many people sought to protect themselves from the subzero and largely windless air in Skopje, which sits at the bottom of a valley. A World Health Organisation (WHO) study published early this year said Skopje was among 10 European cities with the highest concentration of toxic particles. Skopje and four other Balkan cities in that list rely for their energy including heating during frigid winters on high-polluting lignite coal, a holdover from decades of old Communist Yugoslav rule. Sarajevo, Tuzla and Zenica in Bosnia, as well as Kosovo’s capital Pristina, suffer from similar high air pollution.