Each winter, as we navigate our way through smoggy streets or try to scrub the acrid smell of coal from our skin and hair, we inevitably end up at some point having the same, familiar conversation: Is the pollution worse this year than last?

Now, we have various actors actually measuring all that stuff — and apps and websites give us real time readings of air quality in our towns and cities. We can even compare the air we’re breathing to that in Beijing or Delhi, and compete for the coveted title of most polluted city in the Balkans.

But with all this new data and talk of PM2.5s, AQIs and μg/m3s, do you ever feel like you might not actually quite understand as much as you’re letting on?

In our latest explainer video, we break down some of the key terms and debunk some of the common confusion around the air pollution we breathe in every day.

Research, script and narration: Jack Butcher

Design and animation: Kokrra 

Video editing and camera: Matthieu Jouffre

Music: Liburn Jupolli

Sound: Studio 11 PrishtinëK