Mongolia has endured its coldest and most merciless winters in recent years, with temperatures plunging to record-breaking lows.
In the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, Tumee, a 51-year-old mother of two, had been coughing and having headaches. Her symptoms of Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB), a type of TB caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains resistant to effective first-line anti-TB drugs are worsening. She is no stranger to daily and persistent chest pains and fatigue.
“It’s getting colder and colder,” Tumee said. “This time of the year is not supposed to be this cold, but winter has been prolonged”.
To make matters worse, by the time spring arrives every March, the air fills with dust and pollution, triggering relentless coughing and making it impossible for her to step outside and breathe freely.
Not that she could enjoy the outdoors anyway, she said. Her city has few green spaces, and the air is thick with pollution caused by coal combustion, poor sanitation, and vehicle emissions.
In Arkhangai Aimag, Jargalant Sum, around 400 miles northwest of where Tumee lives, Gonchigkhand Byambaa’s home and herd were falling into devastation.
Gonchigkhand, a proud nomad and human rights activist, explains that for nomads, their livestock and their possessions mean everything to them.
“In just one season, my family lost everything, which caused a huge trauma for me, my family, and everyone. So my mom, poor thing, she never recovered from that loss that caused poverty, that caused depression, that cost everything for my family,” she said.
She echoed Tumee’s sentiment, stating that the weather is changing so unpredictably and rapidly that even nomadic people can no longer read, predict, or prepare for it.
“I never thought that was climate change. That was the combined effect of climate change…I thought that’s what happens when you are a nomadic person…”
To read this case study in Mongolian, click here.
This case study from Mongolia is part of a series of stories taking a deep dive into climate crisis in the Asia-Pacific region.