The European Commission will take steps about air pollution in Bulgaria's southern city of Plovdiv.

Stefan Shilev, head of the Ecology and Waste Management Department at the Plovdiv Municipality, made clear Monday that over 30 agglomerations in Europe will be included in programs for improving air quality as of 2014.

Shilev, as cited by Darik radio, informed that a project for monitoring and assessing the environmental factors, location, and legal framework of 12 EU cities, among which Berlin, Dublin, Paris, Milan, Malmo, and Plovdiv, had just been wrapped up.

He explained that the summarized report presented in Brussels on June 6 had indicated that each city had its specific traits which had to be taken into consideration in the preparation of air quality standards.

To illustrate his point, Shilev said that Bulgaria's Plovdiv had 200 days of stratification i.e. specific movement of air masses preventing the dispersion of dust particles.

He noted that winds contributed to this effect in island countries, stressing that the different cities had to be treated differently, taking into account their location, relief, and other factors.

Shilev declared that air pollution levels had remained unchanged compared with a year ago.

He informed that there had been 7 days of increased concentrations of dust particles in May 2013 due to the winds which had brought sand from the Sahara Desert.