DROUGHT

Drought in China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia

Latest update
Map: Drought in China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia

GDACS has tracked this drought in China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia since June 21, 2026, 121 days as of its latest update on October 20. It carries a GREEN alert: limited humanitarian impact expected.

TypeDrought
GDACS alertGreen
CountryChina, Kazakhstan, Mongolia
SinceJun 21, 2026
Tracked for121 days
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Detected by GDO.

What makes a drought

A drought is a long stretch of below-normal rain that leaves soils, rivers and reservoirs short of water. Unlike most disasters it creeps in over months, and its toll on crops, livestock and drinking water grows the longer it lasts.

Seen from space

Satellite picture, Satellite view · October 20, 2026
Satellite view · October 20, 2026

True color from the VIIRS instrument on the NOAA-20 satellite. The ring marks where the event was reported. Pictures: NASA Worldview (GIBS) from the daily satellite passes; clouds can hide the ground on some days.

GDACS report. Source: GDACS, the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System of the United Nations and the European Commission (CC BY 4.0).

Did you know?

Kinds of drought. Scientists describe drought in several ways: too little rain (meteorological), dry soils hurting crops (agricultural) and low rivers and reservoirs (hydrological).

More: floods and droughts · all events

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