The smell of smoke and a noticeable deterioration of the air were registered yesterday in many areas of Sofia. The reason is a large forest fire in neighboring Serbia, whose smoke, due to strong winds and weather conditions, also reached Bulgaria, summarized novini.bg.
The smoke was felt most strongly in the Pernik and Sofia regions. The largest fire is in the area of the Serbian capital Belgrade, and there are also outbreaks on the territory of Albania.
Due to the situation, the institutions have taken additional measures to monitor air quality. The Sofia Municipality has deployed a mobile station in the center of Sofia, which monitors the levels of fine dust particles. The regional inspectorate also set up a mobile station in Dragoman to monitor the air flow from the Serbian border.
According to experts, the first recorded value from the mobile station in Dragoman was 42 micrograms per cubic meter. "The legislative norm for fine dust particles is 50 micrograms per cubic meter for a period of 24 hours", says Hristina Kazlacheva-Trifonova - expert "Protection of Atmospheric Air Purity", RIEW-Sofia.
"At the time of measurement, there was no exceedance of this norm at the points on the territory of Sofia and Pernik. At 5 a.m., the last recorded value at the "Nadezhda" point was 21 micrograms per cubic meter," she also commented.
Yesterday, the strongest smog was felt around noon – between 12 and 1 p.m. At that time, citizens from different areas of the capital filed numerous reports.
"The highest recorded value was 100 micrograms per cubic meter at the “Nadezhda“ checkpoint, but experts specify that this is a momentary measurement, not an average value for 24 hours. Subsequently, the indicators have decreased significantly", said Trifonova.
"This does not mean that there is air poisoning“, pointed out Trifonova, specifying that the mobile station in Dragoman will remain active for additional monitoring until the fire is brought under control.
Many reports have also been received in the Kostinbrod municipality. Around noon, heavy smoke was also reported there.
The local authorities have warned citizens to limit their time outdoors and close their windows. The BG-ALERT system has also been activated, through which warnings have been sent to the population, said Denis Velichkov - senior expert in "Crisis Management", Kostinbrod Municipality.
The recommendations were aimed mainly at vulnerable groups - young children and people with health problems.
At this point, the situation is calm. According to the synoptic forecast, the wind has already blown away the smoke and it is not lingering over the territory of Bulgaria.
However, institutions continue to monitor air quality. If the situation worsens again, additional measures will be taken and citizens will be informed in a timely manner.