As of December 1, 2025, the ordinance on low-emission zones in Sofia will come into force again as a measure against air pollution, Deputy Mayor for Ecology Nadezhda Bobcheva announced at a briefing. She recalled that the ordinance was adopted by the previous Municipal Council and will now come into effect again. The purpose of the low-emission zone is to regulate vehicular traffic in relation to air pollution.
Bocheva recalled that, in principle, the provision for the vehicle traffic zone in the so-called a small ring is valid from December 1st of the respective year until February 28th of the following year. The area in question covers the perimeter delineated by "Vasil Levski" boulevards, "Patriarch Evtimii" and "Gen. Skobelev", "Oplchenska" and "Slivnitsa" boulevard.
Thus, the regulation on low emission zones will now be in effect from December 1, 2024 to February 28, 2025. What is different this year is that in the small metropolitan ring, in addition to cars of the first euro category, no cars of the second euro category will be allowed.
From January 1st of next year, the restriction for the domestic heating zone will come into effect in 9 metropolitan areas - "Sredets", "Krasno selo", "Iskar", "Ilinden", "Studentski", "Oborishte", "Vazrazhdane", " Lozenets", "Triaditsa". About 1700 households will be affected by this measure.
The Deputy Mayor for Ecology called on everyone who heats with solid fuel to replace the stoves with other appliances, and the citizens who live in the small ring in the center of Sofia to get their sticker from the Center for Urban Mobility in order not to be fined in the upcoming season in connection with the entry into force of the low-emission zone.
Iliyan Pavlov, Deputy Mayor for Transport, announced that from tomorrow an information campaign will begin throughout Sofia regarding the low-emission zone.
Another measure for cleaner air in the capital is the replacement of wood stoves. According to Bobcheva, so far 2000 households have switched to wood-burning stoves.
"This means that 2000 chimneys will not smoke this winter," emphasized the deputy mayor.
Control and checks
More frequent washing of the streets has also been introduced against air pollution, and the City Council reported that they have strengthened control and checks on this activity.
Nikolay Nedelkov, director of the Metropolitan Inspectorate, pointed out that twice as many air pollution inspections were carried out this year than last year.
"When more than 370 thousand decares of street lanes were washed last year, this year we have increased the territory by more than 10%," Nedelkov pointed out.
According to him, for air pollution, service stations, car washes and other potential air pollutants are mainly checked, and at this stage over 1000 reports have already been drawn up.
"SO reports about 90 new passengers in public transport", noted the Deputy Mayor for Transport Iliyan Pavlov.
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