In some parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, “two and a half years are being shaved off of people’s life expectancy” because of air pollution and while data shows some improvement in the country in recent years, maintaining that trend will take “sustained and continued efforts,” Christa Hasenkopf from the University of Chicago told N1.

According to a recent report from the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC), Bosnia and Herzegovina has the worst air quality in Europe.

Hasenkopf said she visited BiH and experienced the air quality in the country, and that she understands some of the underlying causes for it.

“I was still sad to see the burden on the lifespan of Bosnians. In some parts of the country, two and a half years are being shaved off of people’s life expectancy. In Sarajevo it’s 2.1,” she said.

She said that data shows a trend of improvement between 2015 to 2020 in the country and that “there has been some progress in Bosnia in terms of reduction of PM 2.5, about 17 percent.”

However, she stressed that “it will take sustained and continued efforts to keep that trend.”

Hasenkopf also spoke about the connection between air pollution and climate change, the situation in some of the most endangered areas in the world and about what must be done in order to win the fight against pollution.

Watch the full interview in English in the video above.