SOFIA, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Sofia Municipality, New Bulgarian University (NBU), and the association Air for Health launched a national campaign on Monday to raise public awareness about air quality in Bulgaria.
The campaign was inaugurated with a nationwide photo contest on the theme "Air," inviting participation from people across the country.
NBU representative Evelina Andreeva said the contest was an opportunity to draw everyone's attention to the topic of air. "The reason is the correlation between air and health," she said.
According to Air for Health, around 14,000 people die annually in Bulgaria due to air pollution. In addition to mortality, air problems have a significant impact on public health, placing a substantial burden on healthcare costs in the country, it said.
Nadezhda Bobcheva, Sofia deputy mayor for ecology, stated that although the city complied with relevant environmental regulations in 2023 and 2024, air quality remains a problem that no institution could solve alone. She called on all stakeholders to join the campaign for the same goal.
According to the deputy mayor, Sofia has implemented a range of measures to improve air quality, such as introducing a low-emission zone for road transport. The use of wood and coal for heating has also been banned in nine districts, and citizens' old heating appliances were replaced free of charge with environmentally friendly ones. Meanwhile, the municipality has been planting more shrubs and trees to absorb air pollutants. ■
