Behind the strongest sandstorm: Mongolia struggles between combating desertification and economic development

Original title: Behind the strongest sandstorm: Mongolia struggles between combating desertification and economic development

Recently, a climate of sand and dust that has not been seen in many years has swept across northern China again. The monitoring of the Central Meteorological Observatory shows that this is the most intense sand and dust meteorological process that my country has faced in the last 10 years.

At a press conference held by the China Meteorological Administration on the 15th on the sandstorm in the north, Zhang Bihui, director of the Environmental Meteorological Center of the China Meteorological Administration, said: “Sand and dust affecting the northern region of my country is The weather mainly originated in Mongolia. Due to the strong development of the Mongolian cyclone, the dust As the high cold pressure behind the cyclone moved to the east and south, it affected most of from the north of my country. “

In Mongolia, where the dust originated, the situation may be even more serious The latest report from the Mongolian General Administration of Emergency Situations at 5:00 p.m. on March 15AnnounceZhong said the number of deaths caused by heavy sandstorms and snowstorms in the past two days has risen to 10, and 11 people are still missing.

inagreeIn an interview with a reporter for China Business News, a researcher from the Mongolian Research Center of the University of Inner Mongolia, who asked not to be named, said that the main cause of this sandstorm was global warming and declining rainfall. It is a dusty sand dune that flies, but as long as there is enough rainfall and snowfall, the grass will grow. “

Sandstorm weather is a severely polluted weather phenomenon that transcends national boundaries. Coincidentally, starting on the 12th, a strong sandstorm also swept across the Persian Gulf region in the Middle East. According to news photos and social media videos, in countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, part of the sky is orange-red and visibility is only a few meters. Saudi Arabia’s local health department issued a warning and advised people with respiratory illnesses not to go out.

　　Desertification is getting worse

Meteorological experts said that the intensity and duration of this severe sandstorm in Mongolia are longer than in previous years.

Since the 13th, the wind speed in some parts of Mongolia has reached 20 to 24 meters per second, and sometimes 30 to 34 meters per second; blizzards and blizzards have formed in northern areas; Strong sandstorms have formed over the Gobi grasslands. Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, was also hit by a severe sandstorm on the 14th.

At the opening ceremony of the National Grand Hural Spring Gathering held on the 15th, the President of the Mongolian National Grand Hural, Zandan Shatar, said that the extreme weather on the 14th caused many provinces in the country to enter a state of disaster. natural and called for shepherds Provide emergency rescue.

In Mongolia, increasingly serious natural environmental disasters are an indisputable fact. Mongolia is China’s land neighbor and one of the most desertified countries in the world, with more than 70% of the country’s territory.landThere have been varying degrees of desertification and desertification, and desertification is still spreading in some areas at a relatively rapid rate. Some experts believe that global warming and higher average temperatures in Mongolia have caused further evaporation of water resources, which is one of the reasons for Mongolia’s desertification. According to estimates, in the last 80 years, the country’s climate has been warming at a rate of more than three times the global average warming rate, and its forest cover has been reduced by more than two times compared to the decade. 1950.

At the same time, since animal husbandry is aindustryOvergrazing is also one of the main causes of pasture degradation and entry of deserts. According to data released by the United Nations Development Program in January 2021, the number of livestock in Mongolia has reached the 70.9 million in 2019, which represents 33 million more than the total carrying capacity of the pastures. The number of grazing cattle in different regions has reached the meadow.Environmental load capacity2 ~ 7 times more.

In addition, the disorderly exploitation of mineral resources and other human factors have exacerbated the desertification process of the grasslands. Experts warned that the average temperature of Mongolia continues to rise and if desertification is combated.jobsWithout sufficient efforts, with the exception of a few areas, the rest of Mongolia will face serious threats of desertification.

Faced with increasingly severe desertification, the Mongolian government has long been vigilant. In 1996, together with the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, it approved a national program to combat desertification and proposed reducing the area of ​​desertified lands. by 10.2% by 2030, and at the same time reduce the land area. 30% is included in the scope of national nature reserves.

　　airqualityAlreadyto get better

However, when CBN reporters stood on the heights of Ulaanbaatar, the Mongolian capital, in the winter of 2016, they could clearly observe that the entire city was covered with a gray “cap”.

This is not a short-term phenomenon. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Ulaanbaatar is one of the most polluted cities in the world, especially in winter. According to WHO, the main characteristic of air pollution in Ulaanbaatar is the high concentration of particulate matter, including various substances such as sulfate and carbon black.

CBN reporters asked about IQAir Global AirQuality dataAfter the platform, Ulaanbaatar’s average PM2.5 value in winter was found to be above 100, especially in January, with an average PM2.5 value as high as 142.

The minimum temperature in Ulaanbaatar in winter can be as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius, the winter time is more than 6 months, and the heating period is up to 8 months. More than half of the citizens of Ulaanbaatar live in slums in the north of the city, where there are basically no central heating facilities. Residents rely on yurts or simple houses to burn wood and charcoal for heating, which creates a suffocating smell in the air throughout the city.

WHO 西The Pacific OceanareaofficeA policy issued in 2018instructionsHe pointed out that 80% of Ulaanbaatar’s winter air pollution is due to the burning of raw coal in homes and low-pressure boilers in the yurt area.

In order to control the increasing air pollution, the Mongolian government has decided that from May 15, 2019, Ulaanbaatar will ban the use of raw coal.marketPutting treated coal also means that it increases the economic burden for users. However, in an interview with a China Business News reporter, the aforementioned researchers said that this policy has achieved results and that Ulaanbaatar’s winter air quality has improved significantly.

(Source: China Business News)

(Editor-in-charge: DF532)