Turkmenistan, ranked forty-fourth in the World Air Quality ranking last year, had the lowest air pollution of any Central Asian country.
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Tajikistan ranked tenth in the world, and tops the list of worst-quality countries in the region, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Kazakhstan ranks 40th, Kyrgyzstan 24th, and Uzbekistan 20th.
Among Central Asian capitals, Astana (Kazakhstan) ranks 43rd, Ashgabat (Turkmenistan) 42nd, and Tashkent (Uzbekistan) 22nd. Dushanbe, Tajikistan, has the worst score and ranks ninth.
The air quality data came from IQAir’s real-time online air quality monitoring platform which validates, calibrates, and harmonizes air quality data from monitoring stations located around the world.
Experts note that although the problem with air occurs throughout the year, it becomes more acute in autumn and winter. At this time, cities are drowning in smog due to the inclusion of a coal-fired heating system, as well as car exhaust gases.
In this sense, Tajikistan's figures can be explained by the fact that heat is generated thereby burning coal.
Credits: Eziz Boyarov, Ashgabat