How Europe is spluttering its way to better air quality

As autumn arrived last year, the residents of Nowy Targ, a market town in southern Poland, were given an unusual tip to keep their homes warm in the midst of soaring energy prices. “One needs to burn almost everything in the furnaces,” said Jaroslaw Kaczynski, head of the ruling Law and Justice party, “aside from tyres and similarly harmful things, of course.” On a recent visit on a crisp spring day, with snow lingering on the ground, the evidence of locals having taken up Mr Kaczynski’s advice could be both seen and sniffed. Judging from the acrid smoke coming out of some chimneys, a few households may have even skipped the admonition about tyres. As the afternoon progressed and workers returned home to refill home furnaces ahead of chilly evenings, the mountains that skirt the town disappeared behind a dull haze. A bakery by the side of the road to the train station emitted a scent not so much of local delicacies as of combusted leather boots.