FLASH NEWS
Air pollution doubles cancer cases in Kosovo
2025-01-25 22:46:20 / KOSOVA
For 30 years, Shemsi Gara operated a giant excavator in a coal mine in Kosovo, breathing toxic dust that covered his face.
That dust got into his airways. Life at home wasn't much better. The power plants, which the mine constantly supplied, emitted smoke over his village.
Gara died on Sunday at the age of 55, after a three-year battle with lung cancer.
While much of the world is moving to reduce the use of fossil fuels, pollution in the Western Balkan countries remains significantly high due to home heating, outdated coal plants, old cars, and a lack of financial means to address the problem.
Relatively small cities like Belgrade and Sarajevo have often topped global pollution lists. This has costly health impacts and could also jeopardize the prospects of such countries joining the European Union, which has stricter emissions standards.
"Official data released by the Hydro-Meteorological Institute of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina shows that Zenica has consistently above the permitted levels of sulfur dioxide, particulate matter and, most recently, ground-level ozone during the summer months, resulting in the phenomenon known as photochemical smog. The main reason for this phenomenon in Zenica is its geographical location, which causes industrial pollutants, as well as emissions from domestic furnaces and traffic, to be confined, not having a means of dispersion over a wider area," says a foreign professor, Samir Lemes.
In the EU, net greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by about 40% since 1990, driven by the embrace of renewable energy. In North Macedonia's capital, Skopje, mask-wearing locals often miss views of nearby mountains covered in snow for days.
"It is quite challenging to do our training and exercises in a polluted area, especially in a city like Skopje that is in the top 10 cities in the world with polluted areas, this is really difficult," says a citizen from Skopje.
Kosovo, one of Europe's poorest countries, generates more than 90% of its energy from coal. The World Bank estimates that a transition to a coal-free economy would cost 4.5 billion euros.
While Gara was buried on Monday in a cemetery in Obiliq, cancer rates have more than doubled in Obiliq over the past two years.
Kosovo's Economy Ministry told Reuters it was committed to reducing emissions and was investing in renewable energy projects and upgrading existing plants./ Klan News
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