Emily’s Piece #4: Part 2 of 3 — The City
Every winter, the air in Ulaanbaatar — Mongolia’s capital — turns toxic. In 2016, it surpassed Shanghai and Delhi as the most polluted capital in the world.
The reason? Mongolians living in the ger district on the city’s outskirts are burning coal to stay warm. Smog is sometimes so thick, you cannot see whether a street light is green or red. And it’s creating a public health crisis for children.
"Smoke is still seeping through their breathing masks, even when I put a scarf over them," mother Chantsal Vaanjir says. "The inside of their masks are black and full of soot."
Smog blankets the outer edges of Ulaanbaatar. Photo Credit: Claire Harbage/NPR
