Several hundred people took to the streets in Skopje to demand immediate government action to tackle the high levels of air pollution in Skopje.
Wearing gas masks and chanting "We want air, we want to breathe", demonstrators took to the streets over a report that Skopje is among the 10 most polluted cities in Europe.
"I'm protesting because we don't have clean air, because they are systematically killing every single one of us and because it's time the government did something," 22-year-old student Anastasia Pavlovska told AFP.
Almost 4,000 people in northern Macedonia die each year due to exposure to PM2.5 particles, the smallest particles that can be inhaled and are the most dangerous to human health, according to a study published by the Public Health Institute.
Several environmental groups that organized the protest accused the government of not budgeting money to fight pollution.
"We demand that this country finally stop poisoning its people, take action and start implementing some kind of policy on air pollution," said Jane Dimeski, an environmental activist and member of the Centre's city council.
"The state should clean up its own backyard first... Those who are supposed to protect us are poisoning us," he added.
Some of the urgent measures demanded by the protesters include reducing imports of cars with low emission standards, increasing inspections of industrial plants and tackling landfills. | BGNES
