Bulgaria Ranks Second in the EU for Air Pollution

Bulgaria is once again at the top of the European Union’s chart for polluted air, coming in second after Romania, according to the latest data from the European Environment Agency reported by Nova TV. Despite the worrying position in the rankings, none of the EU countries have exceeded the established average annual limits for fine dust particles in the air. And in this atmosphere of poor air quality, at least there’s some comfort in knowing that Bulgaria has plenty of fresh water resources.

The main culprit for the dust in the air is a mix of industry, transport, and energy. The harmful impact these dust particles have on people’s health depends on their size and what they’re made of. Larger particles usually get stuck in the upper respiratory system, while the finer ones can reach deeper into the lungs and cause tissue damage if present in large amounts.

The European standard sets the average annual limit for fine dust particles at 25 micrograms per cubic meter. In 2023, only eight measuring stations across Bulgaria provided data to the European Environment Agency. None of them measured concentrations above this limit. Stara Zagora came closest to the upper limit, recording 21 micrograms per cubic meter. Other cities like Pernik, Plovdiv, Ruse, Veliko Tarnovo, Sofia, and Varna were also in the range, while the lowest concentration - under 10 - was measured by the station on Rozhen Peak.

Curiously, the station used for measuring pollution in Sofia is located in the “Hippodruma” district, in a park, no less. This has sparked some controversy and left doubts about the accuracy of the reported data.

Looking beyond Bulgaria, Romania has the highest average annual concentration of fine dust in the EU - 14.7 micrograms per cubic meter. Bulgaria follows closely, with Cyprus recording similar numbers just above 14 micrograms. At the other end of the spectrum, Sweden, Estonia, and Finland boast the cleanest air in the EU, with pollution levels roughly three times lower than those of Bulgaria and Romania. Interestingly, Estonia, despite being half the size of Bulgaria, provided data from the same number of monitoring stations.

Across Europe, the typical range of fine dust concentrations sits between 5 and 20 micrograms per cubic meter. Most countries’ measuring stations report figures in this range. Only 5% of the monitoring stations across the EU found levels below 5 micrograms per cubic meter, while pollution around the annual limit was reported by stations in four countries, including Bulgaria. The countries exceeding the limit are Greece, Croatia, and Italy.

On the positive side, Bulgaria’s water resources tell a brighter story. Even though Bulgaria isn’t among the EU’s biggest countries by territory, it ranks sixth in terms of total fresh water resources - both surface and underground. It’s worth noting, though, that five EU member states didn’t submit data, so the ranking covers only 22 of the 27 countries. France and Sweden lead this ranking, while Cyprus and Malta, both island countries, are at the bottom.

Bulgaria’s territory is divided into four main water basin regions. Over half of the country’s water is drawn from the Danube basin, with slightly less than half coming from the East Aegean basin. The Black Sea and West Aegean basins contribute only small amounts.

Typically, Bulgaria experiences some water shortages between July and September. But these shortages are nothing compared to what’s seen in some other EU countries. Cyprus, for instance, faces a staggering water deficit of 90% during the summer months, while Malta’s shortage is a year-round problem, hitting 60%. In Bulgaria, the shortage is limited to just 2%. Countries like Sweden and Croatia, on the other hand, don’t face any significant water scarcity issues.