Climate change in Mongolia destroying pastures on which nomadic herders rely

Overgrazing and a cycle of summer drought and winter snow has degraded vital pastureland in Mongolia, killing livestock and jeopardising livelihoods

Daashka and his brother tear across the Mongolian steppe on a motorbike in a desperate search for somewhere to graze their herds. Pastureland is dwindling rapidly as the country is beset by a cycle of drought and harsh winter that is killing off livestock in droves.

"The summer ends early now and the fall is short and dry. Then there's the long winter," said Daashka, a 19-year-old herder who uses just one name and lives in the central Ulziit region.