Skopje, 2 January 2025 (MIA) — Skopje has found itself on the list of ten most polluted cities in the world this Thursday. Residents are recommended to avoid outdoor exercise, close windows to avoid dirty outdoor air, run air purifiers and wear an N95 respirator mask.

According to IQAir's AirVisual air quality monitoring platform, the country's capital is currently ranked ninth due to its unhealthy air with a PM 2.5 level of 91 µg/m3 and a PM 10 level of 94.7 µg/m3.

Skopje's PM 2.5 level is currently 18 times higher than the World Health Organization's air quality guideline, which says that annual average concentrations of PM2.5 should not exceed 5 µg/m3.

At the moment, the most polluted part of Skopje is Centar, followed by Kisela Voda, Novo Lisiche, and Karposh.

The world's most polluted city currently is Lahore, Pakistan. Bosnia and Herzegovina's capital Sarajevo is second, and Delhi, India, is in third place. mr/