Dying to Breathe

In Ulaanbaatar, air pollution is made more severe by extremely cold conditions. What you might think is a layer of morning fog or mist, is in reality a smog which is revealed over the city during day break. This smog predominantly originates from coal powered cookstoves in homes across the city.

This unreported world short focuses on a family whose young baby has been diagnosed with pneumonia. The doctors advice is to leave Ulaanbaatar, as the pollution levels are not safe enough to provide the air their child needs to recover. The family has recently set up a new business in the capital, and grapple with the implications of this dilemma.

Across the documentary, readings of PMT 2.5 are taken to show particulate levels in various parts of the city, both in the streets and at home. Our reporter travels far out of the city, to places with breathable and safe air, only to learn about the inhospitable freezes that are driving nomadic and herding into the capital.