CLIMATE
The climate of Mongolia is continental and extreme.
Atmospheric pressures are among the highest on earth. The sunshine is intense and the clouds cover the sky practically only in summer. The 280 days a year of full sun have earned Mongolia its nickname of the country of blue skies.
Ulaanbaatar holds the record for the coldest capital on the globe.
Winters are long and harsh (2001 record: -57°C). Rivers or lakes can remain frozen until June, and winter begins to show its nose at the end of September. Winters are normally dry although the two extreme winters (Szud) of 1999 and 2000 brought heavy snowfall.
Thermal amplitudes are significant, both over the year (record 87°C) and during the day, and especially between day and night. It is not uncommon to go from - 5°C at sunrise to + 30°C in full sun in autumn or spring.
Summer - July / August - is normally rainy (even snowy in the mountains), more in the form of showers and thunderstorms than continuous rains.
The winds are born and blow permanently on these high plateaus where nothing stops them.
In the spring, sand and dust storms are frequent and increasing.
Mongolia has regularly experienced Szud situations that can be translated as natural disasters affecting animals, generally corresponding to an extremely harsh winter following a dry summer. The lack of fodder and the abundance of snow prevent food for the animals, the polar temperatures and the blizzards cause havoc in the herds and reduce the misery of nomadic families. Fodder production has increased to guard against disasters.
In summer Ulaanbaatar often has its skies obscured by northern fires, in addition to increasing pollution.
Mongolia is exposed to the consequences of climate change. During the last 60 years, the average annual temperature of the atmosphere has increased throughout the territory by 1.56°C, but with differences between the seasons in this very continental country. It is less cold in winter, thanks to an increase in temperature of 3.61°C. Those of spring and summer increased by 1.4 to 1.5°C. On the other hand, summers are slightly less hot, with a drop in temperature of 0.3°C mainly in June and July.
There are differences between regions. Winter warming is more pronounced in the mountainous areas, especially in the north and west, less in the steppe zone and the Gobi desert. It does not experience summer cooling.