The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $32 million financing package to help Mongolia strengthen disaster preparedness and build climate resilience by modernizing its disaster early warning systems. The initiative will enhance the country’s capacity to respond effectively to natural hazards such as floods, storms, wildfires, earthquakes, and dzud—a severe winter condition that causes widespread livestock deaths.
The financing package includes an $18 million loan from ADB’s concessional ordinary capital resources, a $12 million loan from its ordinary capital resources, and a $2 million grant from the ADB-administered Asian Development Fund (ADF). The project, titled Strengthening Integrated Early Warning System in Mongolia, aims to modernize and integrate the country’s existing disaster monitoring and response mechanisms to better protect vulnerable communities.
“Around 40% of rural Mongolians live in poverty, many of whom rely on traditional herding that is highly vulnerable to extreme weather and disasters,” said ADB Country Director for Mongolia Shannon Cowlin. “Climate-related and geophysical disasters pose significant socioeconomic and health risks, particularly for women. This project will modernize and integrate Mongolia’s disaster early warning systems, improve risk communication, and strengthen preparedness capacity—benefiting the entire population.”
Mongolia ranks among the world’s most disaster-prone countries. Between 2015 and 2024, it recorded over 40,000 hazardous events—including 1,220 severe weather incidents—that resulted in 726 deaths, 2,014 injuries, and the loss of more than 11.5 million livestock. The country also lies in a seismically active region, with 73 earthquakes of magnitude 3.5 or higher recorded in 2024 alone. The resulting damages have cost an estimated MNT 1.9 trillion, straining both government and community resources.
As climate change accelerates, Mongolia’s existing early warning systems have struggled to keep pace with the increasing intensity and frequency of disasters. The current setup lacks an integrated, multi-hazard approach, leading to fragmented coverage and delayed alerts, particularly in rural areas where herding communities often receive little or no warning.
The new ADB-backed project will leverage digital technology to improve hazard detection, early warning dissemination, and public awareness across the country. Planned upgrades include two-way communication systems in emergency dispatch centers, cell broadcast alerts via mobile networks, enhanced emergency broadcasting, expanded siren tower networks, and mobile communication units for remote regions.
The project will also create a gender-responsive disaster risk monitoring system, upgrade seismic monitoring around Ulaanbaatar, and provide training for national and local emergency personnel. Volunteer groups across 21 provinces will be mobilized, and national and local disaster response procedures will be harmonized for greater efficiency.
Aligned with Mongolia’s National Adaptation Plan to Climate Change (2024–2030), Disaster Protection Law (2003, amended 2020), and Vision-2050 Long-Term Development Policy, this initiative underscores the government’s commitment to building a safer, more resilient future.
The Asian Development Fund, which supports the region’s poorest and most vulnerable countries, has been instrumental in advancing climate resilience and poverty reduction. Between 2021 and 2024, ADF-supported initiatives helped 384,000 people lift themselves out of poverty and created approximately 500,000 new jobs across Asia and the Pacific.
