The public organization MoveGreen, which conducts independent air quality monitoring, has presented an analytical report on the state of the atmospheric air for the period from December 2024 to November 2025.
The report shows that the level of air pollution varies significantly depending on the season, worsening particularly during the heating period. Bishkek recorded about 120 days with exceedances of permissible norms, with the highest pollution observed on December 24, 2024, when the levels exceeded government standards by more than 11 times.
The situation in Osh is even more alarming: over 336 days of exceedance, pollution was recorded for 159 days. Unlike the capital, pollution in Osh is observed throughout the year, with the annual average concentration of PM2.5 being around 74 micrograms per cubic meter, nearly 5 times higher than the government’s permissible norms and 15 times higher than the standards set by the World Health Organization.
The study also showed that buildings do not provide adequate protection against street smog during peak concentration periods. Inside buildings, 58 days were recorded with levels exceeding the norms.
To combat the problem, MoveGreen recommends developing green energy, implementing clean public transport, increasing green spaces in cities, and expanding the monitoring system with open access to data.
Experts emphasize that air quality depends not only on PM2.5 content. In the warm season, permissible levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and formaldehyde (CH2O) are significantly exceeded in cities, posing health risks.
In this regard, one of the main steps to improve air quality is the creation of a comprehensive monitoring system:
- installation of sensors to track different types of pollutants;
- expansion of the sensor network in Bishkek and Osh;
- increasing the density of the sensor network outside major cities;
- collection and publication of open data on air quality.
According to the recommendations of the World Bank and MoveGreen, government agencies need to take a series of comprehensive measures to improve the situation.
Regarding energy:
- implementation of energy-efficient technologies to reduce coal consumption;
- encouragement of the transition to green energy for heating residential buildings;
- installation of high-efficiency filters to capture PM2.5 at boiler houses and industrial enterprises.
In the field of transport:
- funding projects for environmentally friendly transport;
- increasing the attractiveness of public transport by reducing travel time (dedicated lanes);
- introduction of mandatory vehicle inspections.
On greening issues:
- combating road and soil dust in the city (greening instead of open soils, road and sidewalk repairs);
- comprehensive multi-level greening (grass-shrubs-trees), vertical greening of facades, and modernization of irrigation systems.
In air quality management:
- improving the regulatory framework and coordination between different levels of government;
- ensuring public accountability and open access to air quality data;
- supporting the development of civil air quality monitoring in Kyrgyzstan;
- collaborating with other Central Asian countries to combat transboundary pollution.
Reference 24.kg
PM2.5 refers to the smallest air particles with a diameter of up to 2.5 micrometers, which can deeply penetrate the lungs and bloodstream, posing a serious threat to human health.
