Two-thirds of EU's most smog-affected cities in Poland
PR dla Zagranicy
Victoria Bieniek
15.11.2017 10:00
Thirty-three of the European Union’s 50 most smog-affected cities are in Poland, insurance giant Aviva has said as it launched an air pollution awareness campaign on Clean Air Day.
The southern city of Kraków and a nearby powerplant. Photo: Jar.ciurus/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0 pl)
According to doctor Piotr Dąbrowiecki, who was quoted by Aviva, “the number of deaths resulting from exposure to polluted air is ten times greater than the number of deaths resulting from traffic accidents” in Poland.
The World Health Organisation says Poland’s air had the highest amount of large particulates and benzopyrene, which has been linked to cancer, among all European countries, and the second most small particulate matter, according to Aviva.
According to a recent survey of 800 people by SW Research for the Rzeczpospolita daily, more than 73 percent of Poles considered smog to be a “real threat” in Poland, while 16 percent said it was not.
Summing up two years in office on Tuesday, Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydło said her government would continue to implement its clean air programme, launched earlier in the year, which includes subsidies for upgrades of residential coal-run boilers, the number one cause of air pollution in Poland.
As well as raising awareness, Aviva will install 300 smog sensors throughout Poland.
Half of them will be installed on Aviva’s buildings, the remaining locations will be determined in a vote online.
People can nominate their schools, local government offices, and other properties and then vote for their preferred locations.
One hundred locations with the highest number of votes will get sensors, as will 50 other locations nominated by users selected by Aviva to ensure there are no gaps on the map of Poland.
(vb/pk)