[0rzech]

Despite Międzyzdroje (zachodniopomorskie, Poland) lying directly at the seaside, the air quality in winter is so bad it literally irritates the throat and can even give you headaches or make you nauseous, and only directly on the beach can you still breathe fresh air.

The common argument is that people use bad furnaces or burn bad fuel or trash out of poverty, but far too often the actual cause is mentality and not financial issues.

Smog kills around 40,000 Polish people each year. [1] It was reported in 2025 to be 20 times more than in car accidents. [2]

On the bright side, industrial and post-apo art fans can wear breathing masks in Poland without even pretending.

[1] https://pulsmedycyny.pl/medycyna/choroby-ukladu-oddechowego/...

[2] https://www.infor.pl/prawo/nowosci-prawne/6826105,umiera-od-...