site.btaSofia Reports Successful Compliance with European Air Quality Standards for Fine Particulate Matter

For the second consecutive year, Sofia Municipality reports successful compliance with European and national air quality standards for fine particulate matter (PM10), the press centre of the Municipal Administration said on Friday.

The press centre added that the fine particulate matter levels were below the maximum allowable limit for the second consecutive year, as data for 2024 showed that the number of days with an excess of the average daily norm (50 µg/m³) is below the maximum allowable limit of 35 days for all measuring stations in the city.

The analysis of data from 2017 to 2024 shows a clear positive trend in reducing the number of exceedances in all city stations, the release said. In addition to complying with the daily standards, in 2024 all automatic stations on the territory of the municipality were below the legally established average annual concentration of fine dust particles of 40 µg/m³. The sustainable trend is particularly significant against the background of the data from 2017-2018, when four out of five stations recorded exceedances of the average annual standard, the Municipality stressed.

"We continue to uncompromisingly implement all measures that help us improve air quality. Regardless of whether Bulgaria will continue to be subject to control by Europe or not, after the good results, Sofia will continue to strive for even better air quality," Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev said, quoted by the press centre.

Sofia Municipality also pointed out that 2024 was a reference year regarding the European Commission's decision of December 2020 against Bulgaria for failure to comply with air quality standards, as the main measures taken by the country to implement European legislation were expected to come into effect in 2024. The fact that the 2024 data shows compliance with the permissible number of exceedances of the average daily norm for particulate matter in the capital, as well as compliance with the average annual norm, is an important indicator of the progress made in implementing this decision and the municipality's efforts to improve air quality, the press centre noted.

The main polluter of fine particulate matter in Sofia is domestic heating, with almost two-thirds of the pollution being caused by it, Sofia Deputy Mayor Nadezhda Bobcheva said in November 2024, adding that the second place is occupied by pollution from dust that occurs after cars leave green areas, and the third place is occupied by car traffic.

The stations of the Environment and Water Ministry for measuring the quality of ambient air in the neighbourhoods of Mladost and Pavlovo in Sofia were relocated in March, after accusations by NGOs that they do not measure properly.