Particulate air pollution is responsible for 7 – 8 million of premature deaths globally. This is not a problem of developing countries alone. Traffic, especially aged diesel vehicles, and domestic heating with wood heavily pollute air in also Europe. South-eastern Europe is particularly affected. Energy poverty forces people to use older vehicles and stoves, causing air pollution.

In densely populated regions of the Western Balkans, people breathe air, detrimental to their health, while this being at the same time very understudied region. This means that there are few studies which would allow planning of abatement actions. Data show that the PM2.5 concentrations exceed 500 μg/m³ (Sarajevo, January 2020), making this part of Europe one of the globally most polluted regions.

Airborne measurements will allow us to characterize the local air pollution over urban areas, regional transport of pollutants away form he sources, and their vertical distribution. This will allow us to determine the sources of air pollution and their contributions, the spread of the pollution, and separate the influence of meteorology from the source behavior. Airborne measurements will be combined with ground ones, performed by the scientists in the countries in the region. The measurements will serve as the basis with which we will be able to compare after the implementation of abatement actions.

The planet Earth is getting warmer.
Black Carbon adds more than 1 W/m² to the greenhouse effect.
Black Carbon is the second-largest contributor to global warming after CO₂.
7 million people worldwide die every year due to air pollution.
Sea level is rising fast.