The capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar continue to rank among the most polluted cities in the world. This year’s extreme air pollution demonstrated the failure of a series of government policies, highlighting the amount of financial resources wasted on ineffective fixes in the past decade. The culmination of inefficient policies, undeliverable goals, redundant short-term solutions, and the resident’s dependence on coal is wreaking havoc on Mongolians’ health and longevity.

Ulaanbaatar is one of the coldest cities in the world due to its high elevation. The capital is also surrounded by mountains and hills that traps carbon, smog, and other short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs). In the first week of January 2025, Ulaanbaatar ranked as the fourth most-polluted city in the world in the Air Quality Index (AQI). In comparison to manufacturing hubs in India, Bangladesh, and China – which all take leading positions among the world’s most polluted countries as well – in Mongolia’s case, pollution is caused more by burning raw coal, polluting automobiles, and unregulated settlers in the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, among other factors.

In September 2024, the Ministry of Economy and Development, Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Ministry of Health, and National Center for Public Health, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program and the EU office in Mongolia, organized “Air Pollution Investment Case” to address the dire need to solve Mongolia’s air pollution. Experts highlighted that air pollution causes 2,839 deaths annually, and household air pollution leads to over 4,300 deaths each year.

Mongolian policymakers, in tandem with receiving millions in assistance from global partners, have talked about eliminating coal burning and reducing air pollution for decades. The pledge to reduce coal consumption as a domestic heat source in the ger districts has been used for political advantage. To many policymakers, embracing that narrative was important to attract financial support from international organizations and partners, yet little has been done to actually implement the necessary changes.

Researchers and working groups have consistently (for example, in 2014, 2018, 2019, 2020, and

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