Astana's plan to stay warm in the winter? Build a ring of one million trees
Last edited Thu Oct 19, 2017, 10:17 AM - Edit history (1)
In 1997 the Kazakh president launched a plan to protect his new capital from the icy winds of the featureless steppes with a ring of trees. Twenty years on, his scientists are still struggling to grow forests in a spot where no trees stood
Almaz Kumenov in Astana
Wednesday 18 October 2017 12.00 EDT
“Do you know why women in Astana don’t get expensive haircuts?” asked television presenter Dinara Tursunova. “Because no sooner do you leave the beauty salon, the wind blows away your hairdo, and with it all the money you spent.”
Looking good in the capital city of Kazakhstan is hard work. When Tursunova moved to Astana three years ago for a job with a local broadcaster, what first struck her was the cold and the wind. “In winter I go around the city in skiing outfits and fur-lined sneakers. It probably wouldn’t hurt to put spikes on my shoes. When the wind starts whipping up, you will see people on the ice literally flying away,” she says.
Astana is a relatively new capital. President Nursultan Nazarbayev decreed in late 1997 that Almaty, a leafy city leaning against a spur of the Tien Shan mountains, was no longer up to the job. Even he had to concede, however, that the forbidding, featureless expanse of steppes in which Astana was to be built posed formidable challenges for comfortable living.
Winter proper typically begins in November and the city only sees some semblance of warmth around May. Temperatures in winter tend to hover around -20C. In the chilly world capital stakes, Astana is pipped to the post only by Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia.
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/oct/18/astana-plan-warm-winter-ring-one-million-trees
Images of Astana Kazakhstan:
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Winter in Astana:
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