It is estimated that smog kills more than 47,000 people each year in Poland alone. Smog levels increase in winters mostly due to burning of solid fuels for residential heating. On some winter days, a grey haze obscures the lights of the Polish cities skyscrapers and the air smells like burning plastic.
Millions of Poles heat their homes with low-quality coal, scrap pieces of wood, and even garbage releasing not only smog but also dangerous chemicals. An act that is illegal under the new polish law.
Katowice city in southern Poland, with a population of 297,197 is a large coal and steel center in Poland and one of the top polluted cities in Europe.