There are many different things that you seem to miss out on here with day to day living in Ulaanbaatar, one is clean fresh air. Since the temperatures have been below zero for quite sometime the need for heating has increased in the city.
The main way that the apartments are heated is by water that is heated at the coal powered stations is pumped to each apartment block and the water then heats each system installed in each apartment.
Since Mongolia is a developing country the less well off families who live in Gers and wooden houses don't have the same heating systems as the apartments so the families burn what they can in their stoves and firer places. The fuel burned is usually coal, wood and anything else that will produce heat, like old tyres and rubbish. As you can imagine fresh air in the city doesn't really exist and relying on the wind to blow the pollution away never really happens.
We try to keep indoors as much as possible due to the cold and the pollution at this time of year but there are times the four walls of the apartment seem to move in on us and we vary the amount of time spent out doors.
For interest, ground air pollution in UB in winter can be up to 12 times the W.H.O. minimum acceptable standards in winter.
Picture: View from one of the bedrooms of pollution in the air
Pictures Above: View from lounge room window of pollution in the air
Picture: This is what settles on the outside balcony, dust, dirt and pollution after two days
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