The air in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, is among the most polluted on Earth, with residents and authorities blaming the poor quality on the extensive use of coal, the large number of vehicles, and a declining number of trees.
In the early evening of January 19, the level of the particle pollution (PM2.5) in the Uzbek capital was 15.8 times higher than the World Health Organization's recommended safe limit of 5 micrograms per cubic meter. These tiny particles that get into the lungs are linked to several lung and heart ailments.
According to the Swiss-based IQAir, which monitors air quality around the world, Tashkent scored a 163 on the air-quality index on January 19, a level considered "unhealthy."
The most recent data by the World Bank shows that exposure to PM2.5 air pollution caused 89 deaths per 100,000 people in Uzbekistan in 2019, the highest in Central Asia. By comparison, the death toll in Kyrgyzstan was 61 people, 63 in Kazakhstan, 70 in Turkmenistan, and 78 in Tajikistan, according to the World Bank.
Uzbekistan continues to rely heavily on coal-fueled power plants, even increasing the use of coal in the past year to save inadequate natural gas supplies. Last winter, the government said it planned to use coal to heat 2,229 kindergartens, 2,432 schools and other education institutions, and 746 medical facilities in an attempt to help save gas.
Experts warn that this puts the health of millions of people at risk as air pollution from coal emissions produces substances linked to asthma, cancer, heart problems, and other illnesses.
Uzbekistan's Environment Ministry says vehicles that use low-quality fuel are also among the major pollutants in the densely populated city of more than 2.6 million.
An estimated 730,000 vehicles are in use each day in Tashkent, according to official estimates. In addition, tens of thousands of vehicles enter the capital from outside provinces every day.
The number of vehicles in the country has increased from 3.14 million in 2021 to 4.6 million in 2023. Many of them use a low-grade gasoline, A-80, that contains a high concentration of harmful components that pollute the air.
Vehicle pollutants counted for 60 percent of the 1.3 million tons of hazardous chemicals emitted into the atmosphere in Uzbekistan in the first nine months of 2022, according to government statistics.
Measures To Improve Air Quality
To help tackle the problem, the Environment Ministry called for a ban on the use of coal for industrial purposes in the Tashkent area.
The ministry also urged the government to ban low-quality fuel and all old cars made before 2010 -- while increasing government subsidies to promote electric vehicles.
Uzbekistan also toughened the punishment for illegally cutting down trees and vegetation, introducing heavy fines and up to two weeks of administrative detention to stop individuals and firms from the practice. A new law adopted by parliament in November orders up to $8,250 in fines.
It came after the Environment Ministry said law-enforcement agencies recorded more than 2,000 cases of the illegal removal of trees in the first half of 2023.
The government says it has launched a nationwide campaign to plant 200 million trees and shrubs to increase the amount of green in the city and help produce clean air.
But many Tashkent residents and activists say authorities have failed to deliver on past promises to improve air quality.
Journalist Nikita Makarenko recalled that officials pledged to reduce the number of cars on the road by making public transport an attractive option in the city and to raise the cost of owning a car.
"Where are the pledged measures to reduce the [number of] cars?" Makarenko wrote on Telegram. "A million options have been offered. Where are the paid parking lots, where are the measures to raise the price of owning a car? Where is [the improved] public transport?"
He posted a photo of Tashkent at night showing huge plumes of smoke billowing out of an industrial chimney.
"I don't get it: Why can't our politicians and oligarchs realize that they, too, are facing a slow death along with the rest of us? Air [pollution] affects everybody equally," the blogger added.
