Photo: Evgeniy Sorochin / Gazeta
Natural dust accounted for an average of 64% of PM2.5 pollution in Tashkent in early October, the Hydrometeorological Research Institute said. Average PM2.5 concentrations in September-October fell by 28%, while PM10 concentrations decreased by 37% compared with the same period in 2025.
Natural dust was the main contributor to PM2.5 pollution in Tashkent from 28 September to 6 October, director of the Hydrometeorological Research Institute (NIGMI) under Green University Doniyor Turgunov said at a briefing on 21 October on the causes and effects of air pollution in autumn.
An analysis of PM2.5 samples from the Yunusabad, Almazar and Mirzo-Ulugbek districts showed that natural dust components accounted for an average of 64%, ranging from 52% to 78%. On 13−14 October, dust components accounted for 47−52%.
According to data from automatic monitoring stations in Tashkent, average PM2.5 concentrations fell by 28% and PM10 concentrations by 32% from the beginning of the year to 19 October, compared with the same period in 2025.
From 1 September to 19 October, PM2.5 concentrations fell by 28%, while PM10 concentrations decreased by 37%. During the first 19 days of October, the respective declines were 40% and 56%.
According to Turgunov, the air quality index (AQI) reached the “unhealthy” level on 11 days during the same period in 2025, whereas there were no such days this year. The number of days when PM2.5 levels indicated “moderate” or better increased from 21 to 38.
The NIGMI director noted that air pollution in autumn is caused by several factors:
Meteorological conditions. In autumn, daylight hours become shorter, and the Earth’s surface cools rapidly at night, leading to the formation of a near-surface temperature inversion, in which a layer of warm air acts like a lid over colder air near the ground. The height of the atmospheric mixing layer decreases from 2−3 km in summer to several hundred meters, while winds weaken. As a result, emissions and pollutants accumulate over the city. Persistent high-pressure systems on the periphery of the Siberian anticyclone can maintain these conditions for several days.
Natural dust. Central Asia lies within one of the world’s largest dust belts. Dust carried from the deserts of the Caspian region, Kyzylkum, Aralkum and southern Balkhash spreads across the region. September and October are generally relatively dry months. With little precipitation, soil dust is easily lifted into the air.
Combustion processes. According to a study by the World Bank and the Committee for Ecology, the annual contributions of different sources to PM2.5 pollution in Tashkent are as follows: windblown dust — 36%; building heating — 28%; transport — 16%; industry — 13%. The remainder comes from urban dust and waste burning. These proportions vary by season. According to the World Bank’s 2025 report, Air Quality Management in Central Asia, soil and desert dust accounts for 20−50% of the annual PM2.5 pollution in Central Asian cities, a substantially higher share than in other regions of the world.
