🇲🇳Mongolia

Mongolia extends 41°35′–52°09′N as a vast (approximately 1,564,116 km²) landlocked East Asian nation bordering Russia to the north and China to the south, holding the distinction of the world's most sparsely populated sovereign state with one of the most extreme continental climates on Earth: Ulaanbaatar stands as the world's coldest national capital.

The topography encompasses the Altai Mountains in the west with Khüiten Peak at 4,356–4,374 m (the country's highest point on the Chinese border, supporting substantial glaciation), the Khangai Mountains in the centre, the Khentii Mountains in the northeast forming the source of the Onon and Kherlen rivers, the immense Gobi Desert sprawling across the south, and vast central steppe.

This extraordinary geography produces an exceptional climate spectrum: humid continental (Dwb) in the wetter north, subarctic (Dwc) at higher elevations and forested taiga zones, cold semi-arid (BSk) and cold desert (BWk) across the steppe and Gobi, and alpine tundra (ET) on the high Altai with permanent glaciers.

Ulaanbaatar at about 1,300 m sees January highs of around −16°C and lows of −26°C and July highs of 25°C and lows near 14°C with only about 270 mm annual precipitation, one of the world's coldest national capitals. Mörön in the north records January highs of −15°C and lows of −27°C and July highs of 26°C and lows of 13°C with 240 mm. Choibalsan in the east registers January highs of about −15°C and lows of −25°C and July highs of 28°C and lows of 16°C with 230 mm. Khovd in the west sees January highs of −16°C and lows of −28°C and July highs of about 26°C and lows of 14°C with 130 mm.

Dalanzadgad on the Gobi margin records January highs of −7°C and lows of −19°C and July highs of 29°C and lows of 17°C with 130 mm. Sainshand in the deep Gobi sees January highs of about −11°C and lows of −22°C and July highs of 31°C and lows near 19°C with only about 110 mm. Khüiten Peak carries permanent ice. The all-time temperature range spans −55.6°C at Züüngovi in December 1966 to 44.0°C at Khongor in July 1999.

Major events include the severe 1999–2002 dzud (a multi-year compound disaster of drought and extreme winter killing about 11 million livestock and devastating nomadic livelihoods), the severe 2009–10 dzud, the severe 2023–24 dzud (the harshest winter in about half a century, killing over 7 million livestock), recurrent severe steppe-fires and Gobi dust storms transported as far as Korea and Japan, and Altai glacier retreat.

Comparing the last decade against the 1940–1970 baseline, mean temperatures across these cities have risen by about 1.5°C.