The Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change commented on the high level of air pollution in the capital.

According to the press service of the Ministry of Ecology, the following factors influence air pollution in the capital:

•  illegal cutting down of about 49 thousand trees during the moratorium period;
•  carrying out construction work without approval of master urban planning plans;
•  growing volume of pollutants emitted by vehicles into the air. On average, 730 thousand vehicles move in Tashkent every day, and up to 300 thousand cars enter the capital from the regions;
•  growth in coal consumption;
•  use of fuel oil as additional fuel by existing heating plants for centralized heat supply to the population in the autumn-winter period. According to available data, in December, 3 thousand tons of fuel oil was used in 9 boiler houses of 6 heating plants in the city of Tashkent;
•  Tashkent is surrounded by mountains and dusty air flow remains in the city.

The ministry reported that a number of works to protect atmospheric air are planned on the territory of the republic. Among them, for example, is the installation of dust and gas cleaning equipment at industrial enterprises of the 1st and 2nd environmental impact categories, reconstruction and modernization of existing ones.