The Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked, mountainous country in Central Asia with a population of around 6.3 million. The Kyrgyzstan is susceptible to natural hazards such as earthquakes and landslides, as well as economic shocks resulting from volatile food prices and political instability. Impacts from such natural hazards and economic shocks may be amplified by expected climate change stressors such as increases in temperature, extreme weather events and glacial melt. The impacts from these and other climate change stressors are likely to significantly affect key natural resources, economic sectors and the governance landscape.
While the Kyrgyzstan receives heavy rainfall, particularly in the high altitudes above 2,000 m, the country is highly drought-prone overall. Even with 80% irrigation coverage of arable land, agriculture production remains highly climate-sensitive. A crippling drought in 2008 resulted in widespread harvest losses, and was then followed by the harshest winter the country had experienced in 40 years.
Another major drought in 2012 contributed to a significant economic shock. Climate change is expected to significantly affect agricultural growing conditions, including impacts from rising temperatures, increasing variability of precipitation and the likely overall reduction in surface water due to increased evapotranspiration and glacial melt. The changes will likely increase aridity, affect access to irrigation water sources and accelerate desertification, which is already a significant concern and affects up to half the land in the country. Climate change is also expected to have a significant impact on the availability and reliability of water resources. While projections indicate there will likely be a slight increase in total annual rainfall, changes in the timing of precipitation within the year combined with increasing dry spells and temperatures will likely lead to increased water stress (Source: USAID)
As per Germanwatch, GLOBAL CLIMATE RISK INDEX 2020, Kyrgyzstan ranks 123rd in climate risk index for the period of 1989-2018.