Image test: Mongolian archaeological edition

 There are two kinds of people in this world.

Mongolia Inside & Out 107: Dog-eat-dog world

Spring has arrived in Ulaanbaatar, bringing a reprieve from the extreme winter air pollution and freezing temperatures that dominated the city just last month.  Now that the nine nines (yesun yeus) are well and truly over, the snow has mostly melted from the surrounding hillsides and only occasional patches of black ice dot the city sidewalks.  I've retired my pollution mask, heavy-duty winter boots, and full-length down jacket for the year.  If any doubt of spring remained, I've been hearing boisterous clutches of sparrows chirruping and chattering in the bare branches of our courtyard and the nearby bakery.

WARNING: this post will discuss the animal welfare and rights situation in Mongolia, focusing on the status of cats and dogs in Ulaanbaatar.  There are plenty of upsetting phenomena discussed below the cut.  If you're sensitive or just don't feel up to ready about heavy issues today, don't read further.

Mongolia Inside & Out 106: Weather and seasons

Seasons are culturally-specific concepts used to understand ecological and meteorological phenomena through categorization.  While the four-season model applies to much of the world, there are numerous exceptions both culturally and climatically.  Mongolia generally adheres to the four-season breakdown of a calendar year; however, the timing, significance, and associations of each season differ in important ways from those in the English-speaking Western world.

Throughout the calendar year Mongolia is blessed with an unusually high proportion of sunny days (clocking it at over 250 per year on average).  Mongolia's relatively high altitude and numerous clear days avowedly bear some connection to its popular characterization as the Land of Blue Sky, the Land of Eternal Blue Heaven, or some other poetic variation.  Photographs do not do justice to the vast expanse of vivid blue, often dotted by impossibly-white cloud confections, that towers over the rolling steppe, the dark hills, and the hazy desert-steppe scrubland.

Brilliant summer sky over the statue of Sukhbaatar in Sukhbaatar Square, downtown Ulaanbaatar

Dawn on the steppe

Late afternoon in the sand dunes of Elsen Tasarkhai

However, it's not all blue skies.  Mongolian storms can be sudden and apocalyptic.  Global climate change coupled with desertification in Mongolia has led to a recent increase in dangerous flooding, especially in the southern parts of the country.

Thunder storm over the eastern Gobi desert

Lightning strikes during a flash flood in the Middle Gobi desert

It's difficult to discuss Mongolian weather in general, as it is so much a function of the given season.  On the one hand, a single day in any season may bring some combination of gorgeous blue skies, hail, and high winds.  Snow can fall even in the middle of summer and the sun's rays are as piercing in January as in July. While Mongolia is overall an arid place of extreme temperatures, let's take a look at each of the four seasons to develop a richer picture of what might be in store for you during your next visit.