Since the U.S. embassy started monitoring PM2.5 air pollution in Prishtinë in 2016 and made the data available on the internet, there have been growing concerns over the levels of air pollution that have led to citizen protests.

For example, PM2.5 air pollution surpassed 600 μg/m3 and 606 μg/m3 on 28 and 29 January 2017 respectively, and wintertime concentrations substantially exceed levels determined by the WHO to protect health. Amid these citizen protests, in January 2018 Kosovo announced a ‘task force’ to plan short-term and mid-term measures to combat air pollution in Prishtinë.

While the air pollution concentrations are a significant concern to residents of Prishtinë, there is a lack of information on the source sectors that contribute to the high air pollution concentrations, a lack of awareness of health impacts caused by air pollution, and the disease prevalence data that would allow health impacts to be routinely estimated. Development of a strategic roadmap to address air pollution in Prishtinë and wider Kosovo is therefore a key priority.