The level of Sarajevo air pollution on Friday morning is just slightly below 'Hazardous,' Anes Podic from the Eko Akcija Association said, adding that the World Health Organisation had placed the Bosnian capital among the 600 most polluted cities in the world.

Last week, Sarajevo’s air quality was rated as unhealthy and very unhealthy, Podic said adding that every year, Sarajevo and other major cities in the country suffer from air pollution during winter months.

“This morning, Sarajevo air pollution was slightly below the Hazardous level, so my advice to people suffering from respiratory problems and heart disease, pregnant women and elderly is to avoid any activity on the outside,” Podic noted.

According to him, the annual average is relevant for measuring air pollution, and according to the lists compiled every year by the World Health Organization, Sarajevo is among the 600 most polluted cities in the world.

The air pollution in this city is a decades-long problem and experts believe private home fireplaces and traffic to be the main culprits.

At the moment of writing of this text, IQAir portal showed that Sarajevo’s air pollution level was at 272 Air Quality Index (AQI) units with main pollutants being PM2.5 pollutants measuring up to 222.2 µg/m³. According to the portal’s pollution ranking, Sarajevo is currently the most polluted city in the world.