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Mongolia · Tier 2
2,547 days · 2016–2026 · 4 sensors
High confidenceSeasonal historical data — not for today's readings. For current air quality: IQAir ↗ · Methodology →
Independent modelled estimate for reference. Our data uses station sensors which may cover different years and locations. Methodology →
Berkeley Earth conversion: 22.0 µg/m³ PM2.5 ≈ 1 cigarette/day. This compares population-level mortality risk, not individual clinical outcomes. Acute vs chronic exposure differs significantly.
AQLI methodology: each 10 µg/m³ PM2.5 above WHO baseline (5.0 µg/m³) ≈ 0.98 years of life expectancy lost. Calculated from annual mean PM2.5 (long-term exposure), not annual median.
24-hour pattern from the most recent 7 days of hourly data. Dimmed arcs are unsafe for the selected activity.
This is a short-term trend view (not live minute-by-minute monitoring).
How does the air here compare to other health risks — and to peer cities?
Every day of the year, colored by PM2.5 air quality band.
The baseline view is No mask. You can switch to Surgical, KN95, or N95 to see a planning range for mask-adjusted exposure. Smoking-aware mode is optional and off by default.
Data-backed city context for Ulaanbaatar, with practical interpretation.
Traditional felt tents (gers) in peri-urban districts burn low-grade coal for heating during -40°C winters; one of the worst urban winter pollution events globally
Affects: Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
No heating demand; strong summer winds dilute remaining vehicle emissions
Affects: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep
Ulaanbaatar residents lose an estimated 4.2 years of life expectancy on average due to PM2.5 air pollution — compared to living in a city that meets WHO air quality guidelines.
Each bar shows estimated life-years lost due to that risk factor. The orange bar is Ulaanbaatar. Gray bars are risk comparisons.
Source: AQLI methodology — each 10 µg/m³ above the WHO 5 µg/m³ baseline ≈ 0.98 life-years lost. Population-level statistical estimates, not individual predictions. Methodology →
Tip: tap a day cell to pin details, tap outside to close.
All-years view shows the median across available years per calendar day. Individual year views show actual measured values. Methodology →
Smoking-aware mode is optional. Turn it on only if you want combined smoking + air burden estimates.
Berkeley Earth conversion: 22 µg/m³ PM2.5 ≈ 1 cigarette/day. Statistical communication tool — not a clinical diagnosis.
Planning estimate from monthly median PM2.5 values. Air-equivalent burden is additive and does not replace smoking burden.
Based on monthly median PM2.5 values. Actual exposure varies by fit, wear time, location, activity, and daily conditions. Methodology →
Ulaanbaatar has a split personality that the annual median (22 µg/m³) barely hints at. The annual mean is 48 µg/m³—more than double the median—because the distribution is wildly bimodal: summers are genuinely clean (August median: 9 µg/m³), while winters are catastrophic (January median: 99.5 µg/m³, with 49% of January days recording Hazardous). The city is simultaneously one of Asia's cleanest summer destinations and one of its most polluted winter cities.
The cause is unique in our dataset. Ulaanbaatar's ger districts—peri-urban settlements of traditional felt tents housing roughly half the city's population—rely on low-grade coal and wood burning to survive winters that reach −40°C. Thousands of individual coal stoves operate simultaneously, producing dense ground-level pollution that cannot escape the city basin. Heating demand runs from October through April, with January and February the most extreme months.
Beyond the household heating crisis, Mongolia's extreme continental climate produces strong summer winds that effectively dilute vehicle emissions. May through September sees consistent Good to Moderate air quality. The 4.23 years of life expectancy lost (AQLI) reflects the severity of seven winter heating months against an otherwise clean-air environment.
For visitors, May through September is Ulaanbaatar's window. July–August is ideal: median air quality around 10 µg/m³, matching the cleanest cities in our dataset. If you must visit in winter, the health exposure from even a few weeks of January air is significant; N95 masks outdoors and indoor air purifiers are essential.
Data: OpenAQ API v3 · WHO 2021 AQI Guidelines · Berkeley Earth · Methodology →