The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a loan of USD 160 million to support the Mongolian government’s efforts to improve the air quality and health in Ulaanbaatar. According to the ADB, it is the second loan to support improved policies, regulatory and institutional capacity, and actions to tackle air pollution in Ulaanbaatar.

Mongolia’s capital Ulaanbaatar is one of the most air-polluted cities of the world; half of the population live in the city’s ger districts, with no running water, central heating or sewage systems. Ger residents use stoves and have traditionally burned raw coal and other flammable materials to cook and keep warm during the region’s six-month-long winter, a practice believed to be responsible for an estimated 80 per cent of the air pollution in the capital city.

The Mongolian government has been striving to improve air quality in Ulaanbaatar by taking various measures, including the banning of burning low-grade coal for domestic use.