Urtnasan Nyamjav, Mongolia’s environment minister, is the latest politician to be caught out over Ulaanbaatar’s serious winter air pollution problem. This week, Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai gave him the chop, arguing that his efforts to solve the capital’s smog dilemma lacked the vigor required in the face of the enormous challenge.

Upon her appointment a year ago, Urtnasan was under fire from criticism due to a widespread feeling that she lacked the qualifications for her post, a post which also gave her the tourism brief. She is generally perceived by the public as a career journalist with little experience in environmental or tourism issues. Mendsaikhan Zagjav, the minister of food, agriculture and light industry, will now serve as acting minister of environment and tourism, while Ulaanbaatar Mayor Sumiyabazar Dolgorsuren, was specifically tasked with combating air pollution.

Coal the culprit

Ulaanbaatar has suffered from winter air pollution for two decades. Few places in the world can surpass it for the magnitude of the difficulties. Besides smoke from power plants and car emissions, the burning of raw coal for heating on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar in ger (yurt) areas – where residents have no central heating pipes – was identified as the main cause of the burn.

In Ulaanbaatar, which is home to 46% of the Mongolian population, or more than 1.8 million inhabitants, more than 60% of the inhabitants live in gers. As more people from rural areas flock to the city, the problem of air pollution has worsened.

The topography of Ulaanbaatar poses is a puzzle. The city lies at the bottom of a valley, surrounded by four mountains. Due to the temperature inversion, the haze frequently obscures both its landscape and the mountains. The inversion traps the cold air with the contaminants it contains below the warm air. Cold air from the nearby highlands seeps into and under warm city air, while mountain ranges and other climatic conditions frequently prevent wind, rain or snow, elements that serve to eliminate atmospheric contaminants.

Respiratory conditions

The long-term impact of air pollution in Mongolia has yet to be conclusively determined; nevertheless, specialists have concluded that children born in Ulaanbaatar after the year 2000 may continue to suffer from serious respiratory conditions when they reach their 30s or 40s.

Furthermore, according to the non-governmental organization Breathe Mongolia: “Fertility rates in Ulaanbaatar indicate a direct link to air pollution levels. Mongolia’s fertility rate fell by 25% between 1990 and 2017, with the average number of children born to an unmarried woman declining. Medical records from 2014-2015 demonstrate a cyclical association between air pollution and fertility in Ulaanbaatar: there was a 3.2-fold decline in the number of successful conceptions in January (the month with the highest levels highest PM2.5 air pollutants) compared to October.”

In 2019, the government banned the use of raw coal in Ulaanbaatar and introduced refined coal briquettes to the public. They were marketed as odorless and as having a higher burning point than raw coal. However, after briquettes became available, several cases of death from asphyxiation after using the new fuel were reported. The government responded to the concerns by urging the public to clean their stoves before using the fuel, and doubled down on the proposition that the fuel was considerably safer than raw coal.

“Worse than last year”

Residents of Ulaanbaatar have claimed that air pollution this winter is worse than last year. Responding to criticism, Urtnasan, in a parliamentary session on January 11, said the cause of the increase in air pollution was that people were burning more refined coal.

On January 12, the cabinet formed a task force that was given a week to assess the refined fuel issues and assess the increase in air pollution. The task force was led by Urtnasan and Tavinbekh Nansal, the energy minister.

After the cabinet meeting, the group used drones to monitor air quality. There was public outcry when townspeople complained about what they saw as a lack of dedication to their efforts. This prompted the two ministers to visit a ger district and the Tavan Tolgoi fuel company. Nevertheless, it seems that the group was unable to deliver tangible results to convince the Prime Minister to keep Urtnasan in his post.

Just a day before his dismissal, Urtnasan collaborated with European Union Ambassador to Mongolia Axelle Nicaise on the launch of the Switch Off Air Pollution initiative. It is funded by the European Union to the tune of €2.1 million and aims to prevent heat loss in the gers. There is a long way to go.