Pollution and climate change in Mongolia

Harsh weather is normal in Mongolia, but the climate crisis has made conditions even more extreme. As millions of animals die and old-age traditions become harder to maintain, nomadic herders are forced off the steppes and into towns where coal-fired heating has led to a health crisis. Smog has now become a part of everyday life; especially in Ulanbataar, the coldest capital city on earth. Pollution levels have been climbing in the last ten years and the crisis always reaches it’s peak during the winter, as the cold dense air traps a toxic mix of traffic fumes and smoke from coal-fired homes and power stations that sits over the urban areas of the country, choking it’s population.

Commissioned by the Guardian, that included visiting UNICEF-run health projects in Mongolia.