Pollution chokes Ulan Bator skies

Mongolia is known fondly as the Land of Blue Sky by those who live here, but in the winter months the capital Ulan Bator is often shrouded in dense smoke.

Ulan Bator’s famous blue skies are turning to grey

The city lies in a valley surrounded by mountains, so grey clouds of smoke can get trapped between them and shroud the city for hours on end.

Entire buildings disappear from view in some areas because of the smoke, and airlines often blame poor visibility when they cancel or delay international flights in and out.
The smoke can make it hard to breathe and it’s affecting the health of Ulan Bator’s burgeoning population.

The director of the environmental health research centre in Ulan Bator, Dr N Saijaa, said: “The mortality rate is increasing, people’s health is getting worse and the incidence of respiratory diseases such as bronchitis, pneumonia and lung cancer has increased.”

Rural exodus

Mongolia is one the most sparsely populated countries in the world, with about 2.6 million people. But it is becoming increasingly urbanised – according to the UN Population Fund, 60% of the population live in urban areas, approximately one third of them in Ulan Bator.

Sarantuya Myagmarjav, an official at the ministry of nature and environment, says that migration to the capital increased in 1991 due to economic and social problems in rural parts. At that time the country was in transition to a market economy.

BBC