Photo by Rescue 1122 Emergency Department / Associated Press
The year 2023 is already on track to be one of the hottest years on record . Across the globe , people are feeling the effects of rising temperatures and witnessing more severe , climate-related flooding , droughts , and heatwaves . While these changes impact developed and developing countries alike , it is the world ’ s poorest and most vulnerable populations , especially women and children , who are the most affected and the least equipped to react .
Over the past year , CAI has been working closely with our partners on the ground to understand how the changing climate is affecting the children , families , and communities we serve , and using education to empower them to mobilize and adapt .
THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE MOUNTAINS OF CENTRAL ASIA
The Hindu Kush , Karakoram , Pamir , and Himalaya mountain ranges are part of a complex system situated at the center of Asia , traversing the borders of China , India , Pakistan , Afghanistan , and Tajikistan . They comprise the greatest concentration of high mountains in the world , and their glaciers are the water source for more than a billion people . The inhabitants of this region are often largely isolated from the rest of the world , yet they are not immune from the impacts of a changing climate system .
Warmer temperatures , receding glaciers , and increasingly low levels of annual rainfall are affecting their agricultural output and food security . More frequent avalanches and more severe springtime flooding leave people without power , access to roads , and emergency services for months at a time . Unfortunately , the limited capacity of local and national government authorities to prepare for and respond to the effects of climate change , combined with fragile infrastructure and inadequate social safety nets , exacerbates these critical vulnerabilities . These problems are already playing out in the areas of Pakistan , Afghanistan , and Tajikistan where Central Asia Institute has long worked . In 2022 , unprecedented flooding in Pakistan caused 1,700 deaths , impacted 15 % of the population , and critically disrupted the lives and education of 2.3 million school-aged children . 1 Afghanistan has been experiencing a prolonged and severe drought since 2018 . In that year alone , the severe lack of rainfall displaced a quarter of a million people . And last year , a massive avalanche in Khorog , the capital of Tajikistan ’ s Gorno-Badakhshan region where CAI works , left 17 people dead .
The remote and impoverished communities of Central Asia contribute little to global warming , but they suffer more because they lack the resources and government services needed to cope . Most are without air conditioning when temperatures soar during the summer months and without proper heating and insulation during the harsh winters , when temperatures can plummet to -20 ° F . They often lack access to safe drinking water , and drought conditions undermine their food supply and main source of income .
HOW CLIMATE CHANGE REINFORCES GENDER INEQUITY
Even within vulnerable communities , the harm caused by severe weather and climate-related disasters is not felt equally . Evidence shows that women and girls are disproportionately affected . According to research conducted by the UN Development Programme , four out of five people displaced by weather-related disasters like floods and droughts are women , mainly young girls . 2 In places like Afghanistan , poor families struggling to cope in the wake of disasters are more likely to marry off their daughters — sometimes as young as 13 — to reduce the financial burden on their already impoverished households . In addition , household chores that primarily fall to women and girls , such as fetching water , are becoming more challenging and time-consuming during episodes of drought , preventing young girls from attending school or completing their homework . The Malala Fund estimates that due to these and other factors , 12.5 million girls will be denied access to education by 2025 . 3
26 | 2023-2024 JOURNEY OF HOPE CENTRAL ASIA INSTITUTE