According to Sheralizoda, each episode of a dust storm can last several days, and the main sources of these storms are the deserts in North Africa and the Middle East, from where dust and sand enter the country with cyclones.
At a similar press conference in 2024, the issue of dust storms was also discussed, mentioning that there were 35 of them, but the number of days was not specified.
As noted in the report "Situational Analysis: Dust and Sand Storms in Central Asia," the number of such phenomena in Tajikistan has increased more than tenfold over the past three decades.
If in the early 1990s there were only 2-3 dust storms recorded per year, in recent years their number has exceeded 35.
Dushanbe has ranked among the highest in pollution levels among cities in Central Asia for several years, and this situation continues to worsen.
In 2024, the annual average concentration of PM2.5 in Dushanbe was 46.3 µg/m³, which is 7-9 times higher than the maximum allowable values set by the World Health Organization.
As of 2024, Tajikistan ranked 6th in the world for PM2.5 pollution levels, and Dushanbe had previously been among the most polluted capitals on the planet.
