18% of Cars in Almaty Do Not Meet Environmental Standards

Currently, 640,000 vehicles are registered in Almaty

Eighteen percent of all passenger cars in Almaty do not meet environmental standards. They fall under the so-called “Euro Zero” category, reports Khabar NEWS.

Such vehicles are considered the main contributors to air pollution in the megapolis. This conclusion was reached by specialists from the company Eco Almaty, a subordinate organization of the city akimat.

Throughout the year, environmental experts, on behalf of the environmental prosecutor’s office, conducted regular inspections measuring exhaust emissions on city roads. What were the results of this work?

Sixty percent of all toxic substances polluting the air in Almaty come from motor vehicles.

The city regularly monitors harmful emissions. This year, the plan also included separate inspections of municipal, passenger, and cargo vehicles. Mobile laboratories visit bus depots and parking areas to perform on-site emission measurements and record possible exceedances. Inspections are also carried out on major highways in Almaty.

Currently, 640,000 vehicles are registered in Almaty. Another roughly 400,000 enter the city daily from neighboring regions. According to environmental experts, 18% of these vehicles do not meet standards at all. This amounts to roughly 109,000–110,000 cars belonging to the “Euro Zero” category. Their emissions are considered hazardous to the environment. The situation remains particularly difficult with public transportation, especially city buses.

“In previous years, we experienced thefts of catalytic converters at our enterprise. Out of 922 buses, 274 catalytic converters were stolen. Of these, 161 from Yutong buses are currently out of service,” said Madi TULEPBEKOV, Deputy General Director of Almatyelectrotrans LLP.

However, a significant number of buses without these important components are still being operated. The situation is mitigated somewhat by the fact that their engines run on gas, which minimizes harmful emissions. When exactly all buses in the municipal fleet will be equipped with catalytic converters remains unclear.

Photo: still frame from a video.

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