Almaty Ranks Fourth Among the World’s Most Polluted Cities

Almaty Ranks Fourth Among the World’s Most Polluted Cities

Kazakhstan’s largest city, Almaty, ranked fourth in the global anti-rating for air quality, Orda.kz reports.

According to IQAir data as of October 28, Almaty placed fourth among the world’s most polluted cities with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 174 — a level considered “unhealthy,” particularly for sensitive groups.

Only Lahore, Beijing, and Delhi recorded higher pollution levels.

Expert Ravkat Mukhtarov explained that stagnant weather conditions have contributed to the problem in Almaty.

The city is experiencing calm winds, while a weak north and northeast breeze — about 1 m/s — carries emissions from the coal-fired CHP-3 plant and residential areas toward the mountains. With little air movement, smog accumulates in the lower layers of the atmosphere.

Other cities in the top ten include Dhaka, Tashkent, Karachi, Dubai, Batam, and Ulaanbaatar. Notably, of the 30 most polluted cities, only one — Lima, the capital of Peru — is located outside Asia.

Earlier, Orda.kz reported that one of the main causes of air pollution in Almaty is vehicle emissions, which account for nearly 60 percent of total pollutants.

The city has over one million cars, many of which have been in use for 10–20 years. In addition, environmental monitoring posts at the city’s entrances are largely ineffective — deputies note that only a few drivers out of hundreds of thousands entering daily are fined.

Original Author: Ruslan Loginov