Surpassing Beijing would be an accolade for many cities. But for Skala in Poland, it was in a category not to be celebrated: air pollution. With a staggering 33 out of Europe’s 50 most polluted cities, according to a World Health Organisation report this year, Poland is the continent’s capital of smog. It regularly surpasses EU limits on pollution owing to a heavy reliance on coal and a lack of government action on green technology. This month, a pollution tracking agency in Skala in the country’s south detected air pollutants of 979 micrograms (one millionth of a gram) per cubic metre of air, far exceeding Beijing’s 737 and almost 20 times higher than EU limits. Public transport in the capital Warsaw was also made free one day this month for the first time due to poor air quality. “For years Polish cities have been the most polluted, which makes Poland a disgraceful leader — the red spot on the map of Europe,” said Ewa Lutomska of Polski Alarm Smogowy, a pollution watchdog. “The situation has not been changing as we lack relevant regulations which would efficiently limit emissions of dangerous substances,” said Ms Lutomska.