• Over 65,000 premature deaths a year linked to fine particle pollution in the region
• ‘What is happening is simply a slow killing,’ says environmental expert Vladislav Ushakov, warning that urgent action is needed to protect public health

ISTANBUL

In Bishkek, the area known as the Golden Square, nestled in the city center and prized for its proximity to offices, schools and landmarks, is among some of the most expensive places to live in Kyrgyzstan. But environmental experts warn that it is also among the areas most exposed to severe air pollution.

“Let me put it this way,” Vladislav Ushakov, an expert at the Kyrgyzstan-based environmental platform Ekostan, told Anadolu. “If you want you, your family and especially your children to live five to 10 years longer, you need to leave these areas and move to places with better air circulation. Essentially, these neighborhoods are gas chambers.”

The capital of Kyrgyzstan is not an outlier. Across Central Asia, rapid economic growth, surging car ownership and weak environmental controls have combined with geography and weather to push major cities into the ranks of the world’s most polluted.

Since the beginning of January, Bishkek, Almaty in Kazakhstan and Tashkent in Uzbekistan have repeatedly appeared among the global top 10 for air pollution, according to the IQAir monitor.

Experts stress that the rankings fluctuate daily, but the underlying problem is constant.

“Practically all capitals and major cities in Central Asia suffer from air pollution,” said Azamat Kuazov, manager of the Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Program at the Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia.

Growth, cars and a slow-burning crisis

It is difficult to point to a single moment when the crisis began, Kuazov said, because each city has its own mix of industrial activity, transport patterns and urban design. Still, he traces the sharp deterioration in most cities over the past 10 to 15 years.

“That’s when the economic situation stabilized and there was rapid growth in car ownership and traffic in cities,” he said, pointing to added construction and urban development projects that blocked the wind.

In winter, emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere increase as more fossil fuels, including coal, are burned for heating and people are less likely to switch off their car engines, he added.

The largest anthropogenic source is the burning of solid fuels for heating, which accounts for between 18% and 42% of PM2.5 exposure in urban areas across Central Asia, according to a 2025 World Bank report.

However, Ushakov argues that road traffic is often underestimated in public debate, which tends to focus on coal heating. He points to Bishkek as an example.

“If you go up in summer to one of the panoramic viewpoints on the hills around the city and look toward Bishkek, you’ll see a dark band of smog hanging at an altitude of about 1.5 to 2 kilometers (about 0.9 to 1.25 miles),” he said. “This happens in summer, when there is no coal heating at all.”

However, he said that meteorological conditions in winter make the pollution sink to the ground.

“And we are now living inside it – literally under a dome of smog,” Ushakov said.

Geography and weather

Central Asia’s geographical and meteorological characteristics magnify the problem. Cities such as Bishkek and Almaty sit in valleys or basins with limited wind and air circulation, making it difficult for pollutants to disperse naturally.

“That’s why large cities elsewhere – even with transport problems – often fare better if they’re on flat land or near the sea,” Ushakov said.

And weather conditions can turn chronic pollution into acute smog episodes.

During anticyclones, which are common in the winter, temperature inversions form: warmer air settles above colder air near the ground, effectively sealing pollutants in the lower atmosphere.

“City life is fairly stable: roughly the same number of cars go out every day, and industry and energy production operate continuously,” Kuazov said. “Yet extreme pollution levels and smog episodes happen only at certain times.”

“During an anticyclone you get a vertical inversion, so pollution can’t rise and is trapped with weak winds. The pollutants also can’t disperse horizontally,” he added. “On the first, second, third day, the buildup can reach extreme levels – and that’s when cities suddenly jump into the top of global pollution rankings.”

Health consequences: ‘Slow killing’

The impact on human health is severe and long-term, experts warn.

More than 65,000 premature deaths in Central Asia each year could be attributed to exposure to ambient fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5, according to the Global Burden of Disease 2021 study.

“What is happening is simply a slow killing,” Ushakov said.

Fine PM2.5 particles are small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, increasing the risk of chronic inflammation, cardiovascular disease and other serious health conditions, experts say.

Ushakov said the most vulnerable groups are children and elderly people, particularly those living in central urban areas.

“I’ve spoken to doctors who say there are almost no truly healthy children left,” he said. “Nearly all children born and living in central Bishkek have allergies or chronic respiratory issues.”

According to the World Health Organization, PM2.5 concentrations in major Central Asian cities are six to 12 times higher than the organization’s guideline values.

“If governments fail to take action, this number will increase,” Kuazov warned.

Beyond public health, air pollution also carries heavy economic costs. A World Bank study found that polluted air reduces labor productivity, lowers agricultural yields and increases healthcare spending across the region.

The health impact of PM2.5 air pollution in Central Asia was estimated at between $15.2 billion and $21.7 billion annually – equivalent to 3% to 5% of the region’s gross domestic product in 2022, according to the World Bank.

Steps to improve the situation

Despite the scale of the problem, experts say monitoring, forecasting and prevention measures remain limited across much of Central Asia.

According to Kuazov, only Kazakhstan currently has a system in place to forecast periods of unfavorable meteorological conditions and potential spikes in air pollution.

“When very high levels are expected, warnings are issued,” he said, explaining that authorities should then take measures such as switching enterprises to reduced operating modes or changing fuel types. “Unfortunately, this is not being implemented in practice.”

Across the region, air quality monitoring systems remain underdeveloped, he added.

“There are no clear methods for placing sensors, no clear rules on which institutions should host them, and often they are poorly maintained,” Kuazov said. “We are currently at a very early stage across Central Asia.”

Some steps have been taken. In Almaty, authorities introduced a low-emission zone at the end of 2025 that effectively covers the entire city. Under the initiative, vehicles classified as high polluters will eventually be required to pay a fee to enter, in an effort to encourage a shift to cleaner transport.

“Central Asia has become the world’s dumping ground for old cars. About 96% of vehicles are over 20 years old, imported from (South) Korea, the US and the EU,” said Ushakov. “These cars had already reached the end of their lifespan and should have been scrapped. Instead, they ended up on our streets.”

At the same time, Tashkent and Dushanbe have expanded the use of electric vehicles. In Dushanbe, nearly all taxis became electric in 2025, following a rapid transition that took place over roughly one year.

In Bishkek, Ushakov pointed to the extinguishing of a major landfill fire as one of the few concrete improvements. The landfill had burned for nearly a decade and received household, medical, chemical and construction waste, as well as petroleum products. It polluted large parts of the city and the surrounding Chuy Valley before it was put out in May 2023.

Still, both experts stressed that these measures remain insufficient.

“The problem requires a comprehensive solution,” Kuazov said, pointing to the need to convert thermal power plants to gas, improve fuel quality, restrict uncontrolled urban development and reduce emissions from transportation.

Addressing air pollution, he added, can no longer be delayed.

“The environmental situation in the region is far from favorable,” Kuazov said. “To improve life expectancy and the overall health of the population, urgent measures must be taken to improve air quality in cities.”