GoKawiilAir-quality indices were above levels categorized as hazardous most days from December 2025 through to February, according to values recorded by the US Embassy in Ulaanbaatar. In the deepest winter, concentrations of PM 2.5 particulates in the air reached 687 micrograms per cubic metre, 27 times higher than the World Health Organization’s recommended limit of 25 micrograms per cubic metre.
The ger itself is a structure with a history dating back at least 2,500 years, and the United Nations cultural organization UNESCO recognizes gers and the craft of making them as part of the world’s intangible cultural heritage. When ethnic Mongol soldiers conquered medieval China and eastern Europe in the thirteenth century, they probably slept in gers similar to the ones seen today.
According to URECA, the coal burnt in household furnaces is responsible for 70–80% of the city’s smog. Although those who burn it are contributing to climate change, many are themselves climate-displaced, having previously engaged in rural herding, a practice that one-third of Mongolians still depend on for their livelihoods.
“Catastrophic weather events in Mongolia are occurring with greater frequency,” says Erdenemunkh. He adds that zud — a Mongolian phenomenon in which the ground freezes so completely that grazing animals starve to death — has “forced huge numbers of people to migrate to Ulaanbaatar”.
Many of the residents of the ger districts were forced to abandon their traditional lifestyle as nomadic herders, mostly owing to disastrous climatic events, including drought; others were motivated by economic reasons, such as the hope of finding better work and education opportunities.