Kazakhstan's cities with the most polluted air named - new data
Tengrinews.kz — Kazakhstan has identified the cities with the highest air pollution levels for September 2026. The data was provided by Kazhydromet.
In September, specialists assessed air quality across 69 settlements in the country. According to the monitoring results:
2 settlements recorded very high pollution levels;;
7 recorded high levels;
27 recorded elevated levels;
33 recorded low levels.
Very high pollution levels were found in Karaganda and Astana.
High pollution levels were identified in seven locations: Almaty, Pavlodar, Temirtau, Petropavlovsk, the village of Shubarshi, the village of Zhanbay, and the settlement of Dostyk in the Turkistan region.
Elevated levels were recorded in 27 settlements: Aktobe, Atyrau, Shymkent, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Aktau, Kostanay, Semey, Arkalyk, Ridder, Taldykorgan, Taraz, Zhezkazgan, Satpayev, Turkistan, Talgar, Zhitikara, Kandyagash, Aralsk, Shu, Ayagoz, Khromtau, Inderborsky, Ganyushkino, Kenkiyak, Shieli, Karabalyk, and Sastobe.
Low levels were recorded in 33 settlements, including Kokshetau, Uralsk, Kyzylorda, Ekibastuz, Balkhash, Rudny, Zhanaozen, Stepnogorsk, and Shchuchinsk.
How air quality is monitored
In September, Kazhydromet conducted monitoring at 173 observation posts across 69 settlements. Of these, 45 operated with manual sampling, while 128 were automated.
Specialists measured concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 fine particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, hydrogen sulfide, and heavy metals.
2024 Monitoring Overview
Since February, the Tengrinews.kz editorial team has been requesting monthly air quality data from Kazhydromet.
In February, very high pollution levels were recorded in Karaganda, Satpayev, and Abay. Notably, Karaganda registered 55 instances of high air pollution within that single month.
In March, the list expanded to four locations: Karaganda, Zhezkazgan, Satpayev, and Abay. Karaganda recorded another 19 instances of high pollution during the month.
In April, very high pollution levels were observed in two cities: Karaganda and Petropavlovsk. Satpayev and Abay moved into the high pollution category, while Zhezkazgan shifted to the elevated category.
In May, Karaganda again remained in the worst category. It was joined by the village of Shubarshi. Satpayev, Abay, Zhezkazgan, Petropavlovsk, Almaty, Astana, and several other cities were classified as having high pollution levels at that time.
In July, very high pollution levels were once again recorded in Karaganda, Satpayev, and the village of Shubarshi. High levels were noted in 10 locations, including Almaty, Astana, Aktobe, Ust-Kamenogorsk, and Petropavlovsk.
In August, very high pollution levels were recorded in Karaganda, Astana, and the village of Shubarshi. Meanwhile, high levels were noted in six cities: Aktobe, Almaty, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Arkalyk, Petropavlovsk, and Khromtau.