During winter in Mongolia's capital, Ulaanbaatar, you could emerge from your centrally heated hotel (with its balmy 20 degrees) and step outside into a temperature that might be as low as -40 or even worse. A drop of 60 degrees or so is like running into, and disappearing within, an iceberg. It is very serious cold weather.
In spring you can join the throngs of people under the verandas in downtown Ulaanbaatar sheltering from a heavy shower not quite knowing what to do, like fledglings debating whether to leave the nest, and at the same time maybe take in the wonderful perfume of long-forgotten rain.
Cold and Hot
Some say that Ulaanbaatar is the coldest capital city in the Universe, or even all the multiverses. Whatever, it certainly has the coldest climate of any capital city on Earth. Its record low is -49. (The record for Mongolia is -56 degrees in the far northwest near Lake Uvs.) Of course, Mongolia is not that cold all year. The temperatures start to rise above zero during the day about mid-March after being subzero since mid-November. In fact, summers are quite sunny and warm in many places. Temperatures can rise then into the 30s or even 40s. The maximum recorded for Ulaanbaatar is 39; for all Mongolia, 44.
Lack of Moisture
The air in Mongolia is often very dry. Relative humidity can be around 10 per cent for days on end. While that is great for drying washing inside and helping you to evaporate your sweat, so cooling you, it can have a harsh effect on your body, causing chapped lips and dry skin. For the nomadic herders and farmers, though, the lack of rain is much more critical.
No rain falls from about early November to late March. There is snow then but it is mostly fairly dry, fluffy stuff rather like icing sugar, and it basically does not melt until spring comes. Summer does bring rain, but it can be "hit or miss". Some areas get quite good falls, often from sudden thunderstorms with local flash floods; other areas get little. And the rain can vary from one year to the next.
Overall, precipitation figures are low. Ulaanbaatar averages 216mm/yr. The figures increase farther north and on the central and western mountains, but decrease southwards into the Gobi Desert.
Why Are the Weather and the Climate So Harsh?
The extremes relate to many factors. Mongolia stretches over latitudes 42-52 degrees north and is surrounded by land; the sea is a long way away. There are no winds from the sea to moderate the extreme temperatures or to provide more rain. Extremely cold, heavy air moves south from Siberia in winter and sits over Mongolia for weeks on end. (Mongolia holds the world record for the highest pressure ever recorded, 1086 hectapascals.) Much of Mongolia is quite high too. Ulaanbaatar, for example, is 1,350 metres above sea level. The higher the locality, the colder it is.
Coping with the Weather and Climate
Winter is wrap-up time. For tourists: ordinary clothes, down jacket with hood, hat, face mask, scarf, gloves, long-johns or down over-trousers, snow boots and sunglasses. The secret is to just put enough clothes on to keep the chill, frost nip or even frost bite at bay, but not to overheat when inside buildings. Exhibitionists (mostly male) have been known to strip some of their clothes off upon entry into a shop, but they get strange looks from the locals (especially females). Those with glasses have additional problems of the lenses fogging up or having ice forming on them if it is below -25.
For locals the cold is no problem. They are masters of clothes. The fashion conscious women make themselves comfortable and are even more attractive than in summer.
Not only might you have to contend with a very cold winter if you live in Mongolia, but also a rather nasty spring. The locals do not like that season; it is too variable for them. One day the weather may be quite mild, another day may be rainy (everyone likes that) and yet another day may have sand or dust storms (Mongolia's oldest export to China is sand and dust), or even cold and wind, making frost nip a real possibility.
Solutions?
For tourists it is best to avoid the extra-harsh winter time. Not only is cold a problem, but also the 4WD tracks and roads may become impassable through snow. Yet winter is a magical time and a great experience. The locals just adapt. After all they have been doing this for centuries.
John Brundall - Hi there My name is John Brundall. I live in New Zealand - I was born and bred there. I graduated with a master's degree in ...
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