Mongolia

Mongolia, Climate Change, and Ih Nuudel (Big Migration)

Mongolia, Climate Change, and Ih Nuudel (Big Migration)

Ih nuudel, meaning ‘the big migration’ in Mongolian, is what locals have coined the migration in record numbers of rural populations to the capital of Ulaanbaatar. This pattern of migration has been going on for two decades in Mongolia due to various factors, but climate change is drastically exacerbating it. In recent years various international reports have begun highlighting the alarming rate of climatic variations recorded in Mongolia. Between 1940 and 2015 Mongolia had a confirmed increase in temperature of 2.24°C making it “one of the strongest climate warming signals on Earth.” Another report revealed that Mongolia is warming at a rate three times faster than that seen anywhere else on the globe. This is catastrophic for a nation known for its deep relation with the land.