Skopje, 18 December 2025 (MIA) — Environmental protection activists have publicly urged the city mayor and municipal mayors to stop the use of fireworks during the holidays over air pollution concerns. In a public letter, Green Humane City said fireworks would worsen Skopje's already dangerous levels of air pollution.

"Skopje is once again one of the most polluted cities in the world, with enormously high levels of PM2.5 and PM10," the activists write. "In such conditions, each additional detonation is a direct blow to human health and the environment."

"We convey the message of hundreds of fellow citizens who write to us every day: WE DO NOT WANT NEW YEAR'S EVE FIREWORKS ANYWHERE IN SKOPJE," they add.

They also say they will publish the names of municipal mayors who commit to protecting the local air quality by not polluting it with firework displays for New Year's Eve.

"As public officials elected by the citizens, you have the duty to protect us from pollution, from noise, from disturbance and from worsening health, and the animals from stress, panic and potential death. Organizing fireworks with taxpayers' money after all the scientifically proven information we have shared is a conscious decision to ignore reality to the detriment of all of us," the environmentalists write. 

"We don't just pay for harmful political decisions with our hard-earned money, we pay for them with the most precious thing — our health and the health of those we love." 

Fireworks release large amounts of harmful particulate matter, which can stay suspended in the air for hours or days after the event, leading to unhealthy air. A 2015 study found that a single fireworks display can spike local PM2.5 levels between 42% and 370%.

According to Earth.org, the temporary enjoyment of fireworks also releases other contaminants that worsen air quality, including carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen. Firework displays also release highly toxic heavy metals used as colorants, such as chromium, a known human carcinogen causing lung cancer through inhalation. mr/