The City Council reviewed Ulaanbaatar’s ongoing efforts to curb air pollution, highlighting progress in household insulation, heating transitions, and gas-safety measures.

🏌️‍♂️ Push to Cleaner Energy

The capital is accelerating its plan to shift households from raw coal to gas, electricity, and renewable energy.

• 5,000 households in Bayangol and Chingeltei are being insulated this year, with work now 93% complete.
• By 2026, more than 50,000 households are planned to be insulated and connected to cleaner heating systems.
• Housing and land-acquisition programs in ger districts continue in parallel.
• Gas heating devices are expected to arrive early next year, with the first households scheduled to switch to gas from January 2026.

🛜 Shift to 100% Semi-Coke Fuel

Despite long-term clean-energy goals, the city confirmed that 170,000+ households will rely entirely on semi-coke fuel this winter. Distribution points switched to 100% semi-coke four days ago, and households have roughly 2 weeks of other fuel types left.

🥶 Air Quality: Some Gains, New Concerns

According to city officials, average air quality between November 1–23 showed SO₂ down 43%, PM2.5 down 8%, and PM10 down 19% from last year. However, NO₂ levels increased, largely due to emissions from Ulaanbaatar’s 600,000+ vehicles on the road each day.

• The city is partnering with JICA to analyze pollution sources, including emissions around TPP-3. A detailed air-quality assessment will be released in mid-December.

Yet despite the reported improvements, carbon monoxide incidents remain high. The National Center for Public Health has logged more than 1,267 CO-related calls since the start of 2025, and the National Institute of Forensic Science confirms 110 deaths so far this year. Many Ulaanbaatar residents also say they have seen little real improvement in daily air quality, raising questions about whether current measures are delivering meaningful change.