Skopje Has Halved Its Pollution in 10 Years, Yet Lisiče Logged 104 Days of Dirty Air Last Year - the Law Allows 35

Two pieces of news about Skopje's air arrived at the same time, and they don't agree. The first: between 2015 and 2025, average annual pollution in Skopje fell by about 50 percent, according to a round table held by the Consumers' Organisation of Macedonia. The second, from the Institute of Public Health's report for 2025: the monitoring station in Lisiče recorded 104 days last year on which PM10 particle concentrations exceeded the permitted limit. The law allows 35.

Both are true. And that's exactly the problem.

Better doesn't mean safe

Centar had 101 polluted days, the Rectorate station 78, Karpoš 59, Gazi Baba 58. Not one of these Skopje stations stayed under the legal maximum. The worst in the country last year was Strumica - 108 days - and Kičevo and Kavadarci also topped 100.

For fine PM2.5 particles, the ones that get deep into the lungs and strain the heart, the numbers are even grimmer. The average annual concentration in Lisiče was 27.78 micrograms per cubic metre, in Karpoš 26.60, in Centar 25.58. The World Health Organization recommends no more than 5. That's more than five times over.

According to the Institute's estimate, in 2022-2024 long-term exposure to PM2.5 above WHO guidelines was responsible for around 2,974 deaths a year - 14.3 percent of all deaths. Roughly one in seven people who died in those years.

What worked

Mechanical engineer Andrej Stojkovski singles out the subsidy for inverter air conditioners, used to replace wood stoves and solid-fuel boilers, as the key measure. He says the analyses can't show exactly how much each measure contributed, but he expects an effect from the 100 new buses and the BRT rapid bus system. Mayor Orce Gjorgjievski says prequalification of contractors for BRT Line 1 has already begun. The Consumers' Organisation is calling for an expansion of district heating, more greenery and more bike lanes.

Stojkovski also reminded everyone of what Skopje knows by heart: a valley ringed by mountains, temperature inversions in winter, spikes in the morning and evening when the stoves are lit. Ahead of the heating season, the city is buying six new stations to measure PM10 and PM2.5.

Half the pollution is progress, and it deserves credit. But if after ten years of measures more than one day in four in Lisiče is still over the legal limit, how many more years until air is something you just breathe - without counting the days?