> is this common in poland? or more of an outlier? In general, most residential buildings (houses and appartment buildings) from before WWII are probably still

> is this common in poland? or more of an outlier? In general, most residential buildings (houses and appartment buildings) from before WWII are probably still heated by coal. The post-WWII appartment buildings are usually heated via a warm water sent from an outside coal-based plant (either small one that's just serving a bunch of buildings or a large one serving entire districts/cities). I live in a dense city where most buildings are from pre-WWII and thus most people burn coal (except for the ones who value convenience and can afford to install a gas boiler in their flats). The smog can be hard to bear during the winter. Also, since there a big population of poor people in the city, you can get 10 kg packs of coal in many convenience stores :) It's for those who didn't just buy a tonne of coal up front before the heating season, because they didn't have a spare $200 laying around.