Bayantal/Choyr, Mongolia: When Mongolian herder Ganchimeg's sheep strayed dangerously near a salty lake this summer, driven by hunger as nearby vegetation was poor, she was in a "total panic". But thanks to an app designed to help herders navigate the risks that climate change is bringing to Mongolia, her husband was able to reach the sheep before they drank the brackish water.Herders are on the front line of both climate change and desertification impacts -- climate change is bringing extreme weather events, including deadly cold snaps and droughts, which compound desertification caused by overgrazing. And the vast, sparsely populated country of Mongolia is disproportionately affected by human-driven climate change, which scientists say is intensifying globally, threatening the country's nomadic population and their livestock. Bilgudei Gankhulug, the 26-year-old founder of the Hunu app used by Ganchimeg, was inspired to help herders after a 2024 "dzud" -- an extreme weather event that brought temperatures as low as minus 45C."Over eight million livestock died. I saw a lot of herders losing their income, losing their livelihoods in just the span of a few months," said Bilgudei.The app allows nomads to track their livestock with a solar-charging GPS device attached to one animal per group -- sufficient for herds that tend to stick together on the spacious steppe. It has an artificial intelligence-powered weather feature with updates on the deadly dust storms and blizzards made more common in recent years by climate change, which scientists say is intensifying globally.The app also compiles useful information on maps showing snow depth, wind direction, soil moisture and drought, assisting nomads in crucial decisions on where to move next.
