Tashkent’s Air Exceeds WHO PM2.5 Recommendations
The air quality in the city of Tashkent has been a cause for concern as the PM2.5 particle concentration has been reported to be 18.7 times higher than the recommended levels by the World Health Organization (WHO). According to Uzhydromet, on January 3 at 08:00, the PM2.5 concentration in the air was recorded at 67.5 µg/m3, which is significantly higher than the WHO recommendation of 5 µg/m3.
Furthermore, at 04:00 on the same day, the PM2.5 concentration was reported to be 87.5 µg/m3 in the Yunusabad district, and data from other stations is currently not available. The previous day, on January 2, the PM2.5 concentration was also found to be above the recommended levels at 38.7 µg/m3 at 20:00 and 45.9 µg/m3 at 08:00.
In addition to PM2.5 particles, the PM10 particle concentration was recorded at 112.2 µg/m3, which is within the maximum permissible concentration according to SanPiN. No. 0293-11 (500 µg/m3). The level of carbon monoxide CO in the air was also within safe limits at 1.9 µg/m3, as compared to the maximum permissible concentration of 5 mg/m3.
However, despite these findings, the air pollution in Tashkent has ranked the city 10th in the world for air pollution, with the air quality being deemed “harmful” according to the IQAir website. It is clear that urgent measures are needed to address the air pollution issue in the city and to bring the levels of PM2.5 particles within safe limits as recommended by the WHO. Further monitoring and action are required to mitigate the impact of air pollution on the health and well-being of the residents of Tashkent.
