From the streets of Ulaanbaatar during the Winter of 2010 and 2011. Photo courtesy Hunter J. Causey
Back in December, I asked readers, friends on Facebook, and anyone else who would listen to me to submit some their UB air pollution-related photos either to me or to UBAirPollution.org. Thanks to all of you for sharing! Below is a portion of the photos shared – the rest can be accessed in the picture gallery on UBAirPollution.org. Additionally, Delgerzul Lodoisamba collected and shared a bunch of other photos taken by others and posted online.
Although UB summertime air quality is not ideal, it is far better than in the heating season, which extends from September to May. The photo below captures the gray-brown cloud that has already formed over UB by mid-November:
Picture taken from south of downtown UB, 20 Nov 2011 by George Economides.
Pollution on a typical winter day can obscure Ulaanbaatar’s tallest building, the Blue Sky Tower:
Photo from Winter 2011/2012 taken by Lauren Knapp.
Another shot at night from city center in Dec 2011:
Photo taken by Tsevlee Economides.
The main source of the pollution is attributed to smoke from over 100,000 individual ger stoves. Below a man lights a traditional stove using wood and paper:
Photo by Hunter J. Causey.
Other sources of pollution include coal-fired power-plants operating near maximum capacity, car exhaust, and dust. Below is a picture of one of the powerplants at sunset in November 2011:
Photo taken by John Stampfl, November 2011.
Check out or contribute more photos here! And catch up on the latest UB air pollution news here!
That Ulaanbaatar looks pretty bad but it is hard to tell because in cold weather pollution tends hang around at a lot lower level. In any case we shouldn’t have to deal with any pollution. Keep posting pictures they are really interesting.
Thanks for your work! It’s been a big help for studying Ulaanbaatar!
Thanks, Won! Please feel free to send me an email (Christa.Hasenkopf@colorado.edu) if you have any more questions! Best, Christa
These pollution pictures are amazing. It’s incredible how much air pollution there is in the fourth picture!