“Strong burning smell” in Almaty: Environmental authorities conduct air tests

Tengrinews.kz – Environmental specialists, sanitary inspectors and Kazhydromet experts conducted urgent air quality checks in Almaty after residents complained about a sharp burning smell spreading across the city overnight and early on October 30.
According to the Department of Ecology, joint instrumental measurements of atmospheric air were carried out in several locations, including the ADK shopping mall area, Moskva district, Namanganskaya Street, Abai Avenue and Karasai Batyr Street.

“No exceedances of the maximum allowable concentrations of pollutants were detected,” the department reported.

The agency’s response came several hours after mass complaints appeared on social media, when the acrid smell had already faded. Officials also said no official data on high or extreme air pollution levels in Almaty or the Almaty region had been received from Kazhydromet.


“The city’s air quality is constantly monitored through Kazhydromet’s network of 16 stationary observation posts. The data can be tracked via the AirKz mobile app and on the official website AirKaz.org,” the department added.

At the same time, the Kazhydromet website later published a table showing that the concentration of certain pollutants in the air had indeed exceeded permissible levels.
Earlier, Almaty residents from different districts had reported a strong, choking odor in the air, describing it as resembling smoke or burning chemicals.