Skopje, 19 December 2025 (MIA) - The City of Skopje has issued anti-pollution measures and recommendations after the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning said earlier on Friday that the PM10 particle alert threshold has been exceeded at several measuring stations in Skopje, including Centar, Gazi Baba, Karposh, Lisiche and the Rectorate.  

In line with the competencies of the City of Skopje established by the Law on Environment, the Law on Ambient Air Quality, as well as the regulation on reference values ​​for levels and types of pollutants in ambient air and alert thresholds, the City of Skopje issues the following recommendations:

- All public institutions in the area of ​​the City of Skopje should carry out an urgent check of the heating units, air conditioning systems and other heating devices.

- Skopje's "Communal Hygiene" public enterprise should carry out frequent cleaning and washing of road surfaces under the jurisdiction of the City of Skopje, and municipalities should do the same for the streets under their jurisdiction.

- Citizens are recommended to use, where possible, air conditioning devices and inverter systems, instead of individual solid or liquid fuel boilers during periods when the outside temperature is above 0°C.

- Power stations should be used in accordance with European environmental standards.

- Owners and users of facilities (legal entities and natural persons) should check their heating devices, and consider technologies with lower emissions in the future.

- To apply the use of public transportation, avoid unnecessary use of passenger vehicles and apply the principle of car sharing. 

- Institutions and legal entities should limit the use of official vehicles as much as possible, and consider in future procurements the use of electric and hybrid vehicles, or vehicles with lower emissions.

- Construction machinery should avoid movement during peak traffic periods, from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Recommendations for citizens:

- Citizens, especially sensitive population categories, are recommended to limit outdoor activities and reduce time spent outdoors. 

- Avoid outdoor exercise.  

- Secondary schools under the jurisdiction of the City of Skopje should inspect their air purifiers;

- Municipalities in the area of ​​the City of Skopje should inspect air purifiers in kindergartens under their jurisdiction.

Supervision and control in populated areas: 

- Frequent control of the Installations that have a B-IPPC permit and elaborates.

- Frequent control on construction sites.

- Frequent control over illegal landfills and outdoor burning. 

- Control of approvals for the delivery of goods that will be valid in the period from 6 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. the following day, in accordance with amendments to the decision on organizing and defining the conditions for the delivery of goods in the area of ​​the City of Skopje.

- Frequent controls of the technical condition of vehicles in terms of increased emissions of harmful gases, in cooperation with the competent ministry.

- Control of traffic rules for freight vehicles whose final destination is not Skopje, with the aim of using the ring road, in cooperation with the competent ministry.

In addition, the City of Skopje notes that authorized environmental inspectors, the municipal inspection and the city's municipal guards are carrying out ongoing inspections of illegal landfills, stubble, and fields in order to prevent their burning.

The City of Skopje also appeals to citizens not to use fireworks and pyrotechnics during the upcoming holidays in order to protect public health of citizens, the environment, as well as the safety of people and animals.

Photo: MIA archive