Polish Smog Alert

Polish Smog Alert is a social movement that brings together people fighting to improve air quality in Poland – the country with the most polluted air in the EU.

We began in Krakow (the second largest city of Poland and its cultural capital), where our social, scientific and political campaign resulted in a ban on solid fuel heating (coal and wood). The success of this first initiative inspired citizens from other towns and cities across Poland to take similar action. Today we encompass most large Polish cities, as well as many smaller towns. Our movement brings together over 50 clean air grassroots organisations.

We not only launch important campaigns, but we also help shape their wider impact. The result has been a series of new Polish anti-smog regulations introduced at local and national level. These have been rooted in international best practice, science, data and – most important – what is politically and practically possible.

Thanks to our efforts – and those of our partners and supporters – the situation in Poland has improved, but we are still far from resolving the problem, either at home or across Europe. In 2023 we were proud to be nominated for Prince William’s Earthshot Prize and encouraged to share our approaches internationally.

Polish air is still amonst the most polluted in Europe. Globally-recognised air quality standards are repeatedly exceeded in the winter season. In some places, annual benzo(a)pyrene concentrations in the air are more than 5 times higher than the safe levels defined in the EU law. The poor condition of the air is responsible for nearly 50 thousand premature deaths in the country each year and numerous other health problems. The main source of pollution is are coal or wood boilers and stoves used for domestic heating. In larger cities the problem is exacerbated by pollution from traffic.