What is polluting the air in Dushanbe? Experts say there is no “wind rose” in the capital.

Today at 12:34 p.mBy Mehrangez Sultonzoda, Asia-Plus

Automobiles are considered the main sources of air pollution in Dushanbe, as there are not many large industrial enterprises that pollute the air in the capital. Saidismon Sudurzoda, head of the air protection department of the Environmental Protection Committee, said this at a press conference on July 25.

As Sudurzoda noted, measures such as the construction of bypasses for trucks, the transition of most public transport to electric and the closure of the Dushanbe cement plant have been taken to reduce air pollution in the capital.

However, the committee decided not to mention the construction of a new cement plant not far from the old cement plant.

Regarding the influence of construction sites on air quality in the capital, the committee stated that the design of each construction is coordinated with the local environmental protection office and further construction is monitored.

In order to reduce the impact of construction on air quality, according to the department, the territory and surroundings of the construction sites are regularly irrigated. There are also points for washing trucks and other equipment, so that dust and dirt do not spread around the city.

“Any human activity negatively affects the environment to some extent,” Sudurzoda added.

And the head of the air protection department explained the reason for frequent dust storms and poor air quality as natural phenomena.

“Dust and smog in Dushanbe, especially in summer and autumn, come from the south and southwest side of the city and settle there due to the absence or infrequent wind,” Saidismon Sudurzoda said.

What do the experts say?

At the same time, experts attribute the deterioration of air quality in the capital to a number of reasons, one of which is the non-observance of the wind rose during the construction boom in the capital. This disrupts normal air circulation.

A wind rose is a vector diagram that, based on long-term observations, characterizes the wind regime in a certain place in meteorology and climatology.

Looking at modern new buildings, one can truly say that there was no question of wind roses in their design: tall buildings built “scattered” and often so close to each other that you can literally look into the neighbor’s window.

According to experts, Dushanbe is already “in a pit”, that is, in a depression, and there are mountains around. This means that during dust and sand storms, all the smog and dust collects here. And buildings built without taking proper air circulation and wind direction into account only make the situation worse. High-rise buildings block the wind from dust and sand in the city.

Another reason for the deterioration of the city’s ecology is the lack of a hygienic protective belt, i.e. a belt of trees that could absorb most of the dust. Research has found that forest buffer strips reduce the spread of wind-driven wildfires by up to 65%.

In recent years, the country has been implementing a greening program. According to the Environmental Protection Committee, 3 million 139 thousand 504 seedlings were planted during the autumn and spring season.

Of course, the numbers are impressive, but when taking into account the constant cutting down of old trees, they become insignificant.

According to the UN, more than 80% of the total population of Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Iran are exposed to (moderate to high) poor air quality due to sand and dust storms. So that the country does not fall into dust and storms, it needs decisive measures. We wrote more about this in our materials Five reasons why there are now dust storms in Tajikistan even in winter and What should the Tajik authorities do to minimize the impact of dust storms?

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