Almaty has introduced the AAI Dashboard — the city’s first digital platform dedicated to air quality.

The new tool allows users not only to track real-time pollution levels on an interactive map, but also to view historical data for the past three years, compare different districts, check the calendar of clean and polluted days, and even see how many cigarettes per day the air they breathe is equivalent to.

The platform was developed by the Almaty Air Initiative Foundation and is already available online at: https://dashboard.air.org.kz/map

Zhuldyz Saulebekova, Executive Director of Almaty Air Initiative:

“Our goal is to make the air visible. Previously, detailed air-quality data was accessible only to a limited group of specialists. Now, every resident can get a clear, detailed picture of what they are breathing in just a few clicks. Our next step is to transform this platform into a full-fledged expert hub, where anyone can explore the problem of air pollution, read research materials, analyze data, and make informed decisions.”

Almaty consistently ranks among the cities with the highest air pollution levels in the region. During winter, the concentration of harmful particles in the atmosphere increases sharply — yet until now, citizens lacked an easy and reliable way to understand what was happening in real time.

The new AAI Dashboard aggregates data from international IQAir sensors, Kazhydromet stations, and independent air-quality devices, enabling users to access the following:

– Current PM2.5 and NO₂ levels in any district, with color-coded indicators ranging from green (“good”) to dark purple (“hazardous”);
– Clean days calendar — showing how many days per year the air was within safe limits (data from 2023–2025);
– Real-time district ranking — identifying where air pollution is currently the worst (up to four locations can be compared simultaneously);
– “Cigarette equivalent” — how much pollution you’ve inhaled over the past week, expressed as the number of cigarettes smoked;
– For those seeking deeper insight, an analytics section provides detailed seasonal graphs and visualized data.

The AAI Dashboard can serve as a valuable tool for:
– Residents — to plan outdoor activities, ventilation, or even when choosing a neighborhood to live in;
– Journalists, ecologists, and urban planners — as a source of transparent, visualized data;
– Government agencies and businesses — as a foundation for data-driven decision-making and the development of effective environmental policies.