Based on today’s measurements by the Public Health Institute of Sarajevo Canton and the average at 7:00 a.m., conducted at the locations of automatic reference stations for measuring air quality in Sarajevo Canton, the Air Quality Index indicates a very polluted to extremely polluted state of air quality.
Very polluted air quality was recorded at the Vijećnica measuring location, while extremely polluted air quality was recorded at all other measuring stations, including Otoka, Bjelave, Ilidža, Saraj Polje, Vogošća, Ilijaš and Hadžiće.
Current data indicate the continuation of an intense episode of air pollution, with very high concentrations of pollutants at all measurement locations. The dominant pollutants are floating particles PM2.5 and PM10, while the daily limit value for sulfur dioxide (SO₂) was exceeded at some measuring stations during yesterday, which further worsens the overall state of air quality, announced the Public Health Institute of Sarajevo Canton.
According to the weather forecast for today, mostly cloudy weather is expected in the Sarajevo Canton, with a maximum daily temperature of around 4 degrees. The wind will be weak from the south and southeast, with speeds of 1 to 3 m/s, while in the morning hours, as well as during the night on Saturday, pronounced conditions for the occurrence of temperature inversion are expected, which may contribute to the retention and further deterioration of air quality.
Health recommendations
In order to protect health, recommendations for sensitive population groups (children, pregnant women, the elderly and chronically ill) as well as
for the rest of the population are to avoid staying outdoors and to stay indoors with minimal ventilation.
Outdoor workers are recommended to adjust their work organization by reducing physical exertion, shortening the time spent outdoors and taking more frequent breaks indoors. When staying outdoors is unavoidable, it is recommended to wear protective masks with FFP2 and FFP3 (N95/N99) respiratory filters. Special caution is recommended for workers with chronic respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and for older workers.
