Authorities in Tashkent closed or halted more than 100 facilities last week after they failed air-quality checks, driving a steep drop in dangerous PM2.5 particles from 171 µg/m³ to 97 µg/m³ in just seven days.
Between November 24 and 28, special ecology commission teams inspected factories, greenhouses, and construction sites across the capital and its suburbs. Inspectors suspended 67 greenhouses and issued fines to 403 others. Nineteen farms now have deadlines to switch to natural gas. On the construction front, teams identified 53 illegal sites, stopped work on 34 projects, and fined 188 individuals. They also installed water mist sprayers at 51 locations to keep dust down.
Traffic enforcement targeted heavy polluters too: officers penalised 837 lorry drivers for carrying uncovered loads and 206 more for excessive exhaust emissions. City crews watered streets and public areas, cleared irrigation channels, and turned on fountains to cool and clean the air.
The combined crackdown delivered quick results. Yet the Ministry of Ecology warns that a cold anticyclone arriving from November 29 could trap pollutants again and temporarily push readings back up.
