Editing Bielsko-Biała (section)

=== Air pollution ===
Bielsko-Biała is a city with relatively high [[air pollution]]. According to a 2016 report by the [[World Health Organization]], it was ranked as the twenty-seventh most polluted city in the European Union.<ref>{{cite web |title=Przerażający raport ws. jakości powietrza. Polskie miasta na czele listy |date=2016-05-14 |url=http://tvn24bis.pl/ze-swiata,75/raport-who-najbardziej-zanieczyszczone-miasta,643576.html |website=[[TVN24]] |language=pl |access-date=2023-07-22 |archive-date=2016-05-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160514113138/http://tvn24bis.pl/ze-swiata,75/raport-who-najbardziej-zanieczyszczone-miasta,643576.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Then in a 2020 report by the [[IQAir]] company, it was ranked thirty-eighth in Europe and fifth in Poland.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kozjar |first1=Katarzyna |title=Ranking IQ Air: najbardziej zanieczyszczone europejskie miasto leży na Śląsku |url=https://smoglab.pl/najbardziej-zanieczyszczone-miasta-2020-iqair/ |publisher=Smoglab |access-date=22 July 2023 |language=pl |date=2021-03-23}}</ref> The biggest contributor to air pollution is the fact that many households, including in the inner city area, still use traditional heating systems based on burning coal. The environmental situation in the city has been gradually improving in recent years. This is influenced by municipal measures such as the "Low Emission Economy Plan", which has been implemented since 2015.<ref>{{cite web |title=Resolution No. X/155/2015 on the adoption for implementation of the document "Low Emission Economy Plan and Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) for the City of Bielsko-Biała" |url=https://bip.um.bielsko.pl/Article/get/id,60931.html |publisher=Bielsko-Biała City Council |access-date=22 July 2023 |language=pl}}</ref> In 2020, 454 coal-fired boilers in residentional buildings were replaced by gas or [[district heating]] using municipal subsidies.<ref>{{cite web |title=Environmental Protection Programme for the City of Bielsko-Biała for the period 2021-2024. |url=https://bip.um.bielsko.pl/a,80082,obwieszczenie-dot-programu-ochrony-srodowiska-dla-miasta-bielska-bialej-na-lata-2021-2024-z-perspekt.html |publisher=Bielsko-Biała City Council |access-date=22 July 2023}}</ref>

Bielsko-Biała belongs to the cities where the environmental condition has been gradually improving over the past few years. The number of days when the permissible daily concentration of suspended particulate matter PM10 was exceeded in the years 2018-2022 were as follows: 52, 30, 33, 41, 24, respectively.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

The main contributors to air pollution are the use of outdated solid fuel sources in households, emissions of gases and particles from industrial plants, and traffic.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

The operation of outdated heating systems and solid fuel combustion sources within the city promotes the formation of smog during the heating season. Smog has a negative impact on human health and can also have destructive effects on buildings, especially historical ones.

Pollution from traffic is concentrated within densely built-up areas known as "street canyons." The city's air quality is significantly influenced by transregional factors, such as the influx of pollutants from neighboring municipalities.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

The quality of the water flowing through the city has been gradually improving. However, in 2022, the state of a significant portion of surface water, both in the Biała and Wapienica rivers, was classified as poor.<ref>{{cite web |title=Informatyczny System Osłony Kraju |url=https://eur05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fisok.gov.pl%2Fhydroportal.html&data=05%7C01%7Cbeata.rozpedek%40um.bielsko-biala.pl%7C6558c34ad6b748232fc308dbba664b23%7C49e6c2960fc046c291d5b2694ca14f04%7C0%7C0%7C638308720737196231%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=r%2FwdngoKwjQc8%2Bb9HHDfehBRKILxTYGl%2BihrMJsOHVg%3D&reserved=0 |access-date=21 September 2023}}</ref>

The city's ecological situation has been gradually improving in recent years, thanks in part to the actions of municipal authorities, such as the implementation of the "Low-Emission Economy Plan" since 2010. Between 2008 and 2022, with the city's support, over 7200 solid fuel boilers and furnaces were eliminated in residential buildings in Bielsko-Biała.

The first municipal Energy Management Bureau in Poland was established in Bielsko-Biała in 1997, and it currently operates as an energy team within the Department of Environmental Protection and Energy of the Municipal Office.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

In 2022, there were three monitoring stations in the city as part of the National Air Quality Monitoring System, and the city installed 36 air quality sensors in urban areas to depict the distribution of pollutants within the city [Source: Data from the Department of Environmental Protection and Energy, Municipal Office in Bielsko-Biała].