Flights grounded as toxic smog blankets European capital

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The Swiss air quality technology company IQAir, which assesses air quality in real time, put Sarajevo’s air quality index, or AQI, at a “very unhealthy” 225, ranking the city as the third most-polluted in the world. “I can barely breathe, you see how hard it is for me to speak.” open image in gallery A woman wears a face mask shrouded by pollution haze as smog covers Sarajevo, Bosnia, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024 Nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains, Sarajevo is particularly prone to air pollution. open image in gallery Avaz Twist Tower building, 172 meters high, peaks through a dense layer of fog and smog in Sarajevo The air in neighboring Serbia's capital Belgrade also was deemed “unhealthy” on Thursday with the air quality index put at 170. open image in gallery A woman wears a face mask shrouded by pollution haze as smog covers Sarajevo A Sarajevo resident, who gave only her first name as Nada, said she tries to evade pollution by going to the mountains around the city where the air is clean and from where Sarajevo can be seen covered in a cloud of fog below.