Air pollution in Montenegro is a barrier to staying here

Wow! That's a surprise!

Here on the coast (Tivat) I've never experienced anything like that. I see on the site you shared that the coastal city of Bar had good air quality. I guess the air coming from the sea helps. 

Can't you consider living on the coast instead of Podgorica? It is only a 30min drive to the capital for the closest coastal towns...

The air is certainly much better in Bar (there is no data for Tivat). By extrapolation, presumably it's also better in Tivat.

https://aqicn.org/city/montenegro/bar (see PM2.5 history at the page bottom)

Except for the burning of wood for residential heating, most of the pollution isn't originating from Montenegro. Its neighbors to the north are treating the atmosphere like a free public sewer, and when the wind is out of the north, the badness drifts here.

I live in rural Croatia, near the border with Hungary. Most people heat their homes by burning wood but the area is so sparsely populated that it is not a problem. There is not much industry, hence the depopulation.

@fidobsa Wood burning is far less harmful than the burning of cheap high-sulfur coal by our neighbors up north. The sulfur dioxide from coal plants rises high in the atmosphere and drifts downwind for hundreds of kilometers. If you expand the maps in the links I sent, you can see who the culprits are, and how the pollution diminishes the farther you get away from them.

i think you missed the major pollutant which is government acceptance of the aluminium micro nano particles pumped into the sky to cause blockage to the sun.   have a look into the sky and the criss cross of contaminates placed there on a very regular basis.if you want photos of this just let me know.  it is a world wide crisis that causes many lung problems,

@pbryant

It was interesting to read about  the air pollution in Montenegro. I hope that sone european  environmental  agencies continue to collect data and monitor air pollution in the region. I live about 13 miles southeast of Podgorica, (from May to November) and I have not notice or experience  these air pollutants. Frank

Hi pbryant, do you recommend any  outdoor air quality tester that  would  efficiently test and monitor outdoor air quality?

Thanks

Frank

@Pivezaj

I too hope the air quality improves, but given the practice of burning wood for residential heating, I'm not hopeful of any substantial change. I don't expect any political moves toward change as people just don't seem to recognize the problem. Denial is a powerful thing. The air quality in the Western Balkans is the worst in Europe, and there were days in mid-December when their air here was a bad as in Beijing, China.

The pollution more or less tracks the temperature: when it's cold, people burn more wood, and the air is worse.

The air quality has been good over the past week or so. But in mid-December, everyone I knew was sick to some degree from pollution that measured between "Very Unhealthy" to "Hazardous" in Podgorica. People quickly become used to odors, but if you have installed air purifiers in your home, you will find on bad days when stepping outside it smells like a forest fire (I've been through a few in Northern California).

You can see an animation of the pollution forecast here: https://aqicn.org/country/montenegro/

@Pivezaj

I depend on official monitoring of outdoor air.

These may be of interest, though I haven't tried any of the products: https://aqicn.org/sensor/. My air purifiers include monitors and they closely track the official measurements of the outdoor air quality -- though at only about 10% of the outdoor pollution numbers - proving they are working. All I need to do is open a door or window to watch the measured numbers soar!

Thank you for ur  reply. Definitely the locals , most of them,  are not informed about this  air pollution and the problems that causes to their  health .

Take care,

For the sake of comparison, here are the national rankings for air pollution: https://www.iqair.com/world-most-polluted-countries .Those national rankings don't reflect localized conditions. Here in Podgorica, the air quality is far worse than that.

@pbryant

Sorry folks - the link in the above posting got broken and I can't fix or delete it.

    @pbryant
Sorry folks - the link in the above posting got broken and I can't fix or delete it.
   

    -@pbryant

This is the link:  https://www.iqair.com/world-most-polluted-countries

    @pbryant
Sorry folks - the link in the above posting got broken and I can't fix or delete it.
   

    -@pbryant

I've asked an Admin to edit your post.  In the meantime, this link will take you to the place where I think you meant to point us to.

Hope this helps.

Cynic

Expat Team

PS - good subject; the reason why I moved to North Yorkshire was because of the air quality; as a COPD sufferer, it's a very important matter.

About 10-15 years ago the air was still good in the Kotor area. Nowadays it has become polluted in the winter, as more people heat with wood, due to the rize in the price of electricity; and from April to October due to the numerous cruisers visiting the area. Apparently 500 cruisers are expected this season. Horrible !

With high electricity prices (compared to income) and no natural gas (methane) infrastructure for residential heating, the problem is really severe. I've been monitoring the air quality every day this year, and it is "better" along the coast. But there were still many days when the air ranked as "unhealthful" in Budva and Bar. The problem is much worse in Podgorica and Nicsic. December and January are the worst. The WHO estimates that the pollution in Montenegro takes about 1.5 years off everyone's life expectancy, and naturally reduces their quality of life long before they reach their end. That's almost as bad as smoking (though the combined effects for smokers is probably much worse).

In California, where I'm from, wood burning is banned altogether on "spare the air" days when the AQI is above 100, with high fines for violations. Nearly all of December and January would be above that threshold for banning wood burning. But what can we do? We can't expect people to freeze in their homes. As the saying goes: "it is what it is." My solution is avoidance: just don't be in Podgorica from November through the beginning of March.

I hope the Montenegrin government officials r paying attention to  this air pollution concertn.  When officials  see the  scientific data  they should  act; it's common sense, when mayors and/or federal-elected officials are informed about these devastating  wood-burning pollutants, they address the issue at local and/or federal level! Wood burning is a cheap way  for warming their homes and electricity is expensive, but , this is a huge environmental problem for all residents, it effects everybody that  live in these communities, and they can not  ignore it;! they need to address this issue in regard to air quality ASAP, and come up  with a sustainable , visible and  reasonable solution.  For reference, as a guidance ,they can use the European Community's standards,  policies  and law implementation .