The Cause
Coal Power Plants: produce most of Mongolia’s electricity
Ger Districts: on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar and are home to 46% of the country’s population. They burn raw, unrefined coal in the centre of their homes for cooking and heating all year round.
(Raw Coal) “produces copious amounts of particulate matter as well as sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide.”
- World Health Organisation
The Most Vulnerable
“Pneumonia is now the second leading cause of death for children under five in Mongolia.”
”At 11 months old, Almasbek is just past the nebulous state of babyhood. He also has a pug-like wheeze on every out-breath and has been hospitalized eight times since birth.”
- Time Magazine
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
“The city has among the world’s highest peaks of PM2.5—the ultrafine particles that can carry carcinogens such as arsenic and mercury and are small enough to permeate most of the body’s defensive filters.”
- Time Magazine
The Consequences
“The main consequences of air pollution are not just a bad cough; they are heart attacks, and strokes. There is also emerging evidence regarding neurodevelopmental diseases, and adverse birth outcomes, and the relation between early exposure and later non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes,”
- Dr Rokho Kim, environmental specialist for the World Health Organization (WHO)
