site.btaAir Pollution Levels in Sofia Remain Below Critical, Says Deputy Mayor

The fog that lingered over Sofia for several days in a row posed a serious risk to air quality. However, despite the foggy weather, the pollution level in Sofia remained below critical - unlike other capitals in the Balkans, said Sofia's Deputy Mayor for Ecology, Nadezhda Bobcheva, as cited by the press office of City Hall.

Bobcheva emphasized that air pollution has stayed below critical levels in recent days, despite the challenging weather.

"Of course, the air quality leaves something to be desired, which is not only due to Sofia's location in a trough-like valley that hinders the dispersion of emissions. But after years of neglect and half-measures, we are now seeing results from the systematic approach we began implementing late last year," Bobcheva commented.

She said control on pollution sources was now ten times stricter. In December alone, 406 inspections were carried out, resulting in 56 statements of violation. By comparison, 44 inspections took place in the first 20 days of December 2022, and only 30 a year earlier.

The municipality is also gradually addressing "mud hotspots," which are sources of secondary dust dispersion and the second-largest contributors to air pollution. In 2024, approximately 18,000 square metres of land across Sofia were transformed from sources of pollution into recreational spaces, green areas or additional parking spots in neighborhoods. For the first time, Sofia Municipality won a lawsuit for mud-related pollution, imposing the maximum fine of BGN 50,000 on a company which failed to clean up truck wheels on a construction site and polluted streets.

Street cleaning is now 30% more frequent and effective.

Public transportation is also improving as a measure to reduce car usage, with new routes, more frequent schedules, and better connectivity between neighborhoods, Bobcheva noted. The administration of Mayor Vassil Terziev has drawn up an investment programme worth over BGN 1 billion for the modernization of public transport by 2030. Initial improvements have already resulted in over 90,000 new daily trips by public transport in 2024.

As of January 1, wood and coal burning for heating is prohibited in the city centre. The Sofia Inspectorate monitors compliance using mobile teams, thermal cameras and two drones. Households in the low-emission zone are supported through a campaign for free replacement of old wood- and coal-burning stoves. Nearly 5,000 households have already applied.

A low-emission zone for vehicles was introduced in December. The number of the most polluting cars in central Sofia has more than halved. On the first working day of the zone's implementation, nearly 4,000 highly polluting cars were in the city centre; by December 31, that number had dropped to 1,800.