The silent killer – smog in Poland
The winter is approaching Poland, and together with gradually descending temperatures comes the recurring problem – smog. WHO Report (2016) clearly proved Polish infirmity – out of 50 most polluted cities in the European Union, 33 are located in Poland. Last winter, Poland has been announced “the China of Europe” in terms of pollution, when one day Warsaw had the most toxic air in the entire world. Particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) standards were exceeded by more than 3000% (Wantuch, 2017). According to the European Environment Agency Report (2016), Poland’s poor air quality causes 48,000 premature deaths every year and shortens each person’s life by 9 months. Silesian cities inhabitants inhale the amount of toxins comparable to smoking 7 cigarettes a day - the smog is silently killing Polish population. The problem of smog in Poland has been arising for many years and successive governments have marginalised it. The main reason for this lies in Polish econom