Spring is supposed to be the season of revival and vitality, but in the north of the mainland, sandstorms often come unexpectedly, bringing many inconveniences to people's lives. On dusty days, the spring breeze is no longer warm and warm, the sun is no longer bright, the verdant green plants are shrouded in a layer of brown shadows, and the vitality and vitality of spring are obscured by the yellow sand.
Since 1979, the mainland has been building the Great Green Wall in the "Three Norths" region to protect against wind and sand. However, despite our tremendous efforts, sandstorms are still frequently moving southward, and the reason behind this is not that the mainland's forest protection project is not in place, but is closely related to the ecological environment of Mongolia, our northern neighbor of the nine countries.
Mongolia, a landlocked country, has an arid climate due to its temperate continental climate and unique geographical location, which makes it difficult for the moist air masses of the ocean to reach. Mongolia is dominated by grassland animal husbandry, but its ecological environment has been deteriorating for a long time.
Since the 40s of the 20th century, the annual precipitation in Mongolia has been decreasing year by year, while the average temperature has continued to rise. Especially since the 90s, the desertification of the steppes in Mongolia has become more and more serious. According to statistics in 2007, as much as 72% of Mongolia's land has suffered from desertification to varying degrees, and this trend is still deteriorating, posing a serious threat to animal husbandry, ecological environment and people's production and livelihood.
The frequency of sandstorms is also increasing year by year, from about 20 days per year in the 60s of the 20th century to nearly 100 days per year in 2010. In March 2021, a severe sandstorm swept from Mongolia, affecting half of the mainland, causing flight delays and significantly reduced visibility in many places.
The source of the dust storms in Mongolia is in even worse condition. Lacking the protection of forest vegetation, the wind was raging, with wind speeds of up to 42 meters per second, causing serious casualties and property damage.
The frequency of sandstorms is not only due to the climatic factors inherent in Mongolia, but also due to man-made causes. In agriculture, due to the lack of forest barriers, the average wind speed in Mongolia during the spring monsoon season is as high as 3-4 m/s, which is very prone to soil erosion. Over the past 30 years, Mongolia has lost an average of 35-50 tonnes of soil per hectare of arable land.
In addition, deforestation is also a significant cause of soil degradation. In order to revive the economy, Mongolia exported timber in large quantities in the 90s, which led to a significant reduction in forest area, and by 2010, the country's forest cover was already as low as 6.7%.
In terms of mining, although Mongolia is rich in mineral resources, its mining technology is relatively backward, and the utilization rate of enterprise equipment for mineral resources is low, resulting in serious waste of resources. In order to open mines, some enterprises arbitrarily divert rivers and do not control the use of polluting chemicals, which exacerbates the depletion and pollution of water sources, and further exacerbates the process of desertification.
As the backbone of Mongolia's economy, the impact of animal husbandry on the ecological environment cannot be ignored. Since the 90s, Mongolia has declared that pastures are owned by the whole people, which has led to serious overgrazing by herders. Due to the lack of effective management systems, herders move and graze at will in order to maximize profits, occupying important water sources and transportation routes.
This not only leads to the unreasonable distribution of human and livestock areas, but also leads to problems such as overloading of pastures and imbalance in the proportion of livestock. As one of the traditional "five animals" in Mongolia, the number of goats has increased dramatically under the background of high cashmere prices, which has exacerbated the reverse succession of grassland ecology and land desertification.
The frequent occurrence of sandstorms has not only had a serious impact on Mongolia's ecological environment and economic development, but also brought many challenges to the mainland. Although it took decades for the mainland to build the Great Green Wall, it is still difficult to completely block the southward winds and sand. Sandstorms not only affect the quality of life and ecological environment in the northern part of the mainland, but also bring many inconveniences to transportation and agricultural production.
In response to this challenge, the Government of Mongolia has already begun to take action. In 2021, Mongolia launched the "Billion Trees" campaign, which aims to plant 1 billion trees in the next decade to improve the environment. In addition, the mainland and Mongolia have also strengthened cooperation and exchanges in the field of desertification prevention and control, and jointly tackled environmental problems such as sandstorms.
In short, the frequent occurrence of sandstorms is a direct manifestation of the deterioration of Mongolia's ecological environment and a microcosm of global environmental problems. In the face of this challenge, we need to strengthen international cooperation and exchanges to jointly address environmental issues and protect the bright future of our planet. Let's hope that in the near future, the wind and sand will be able to disperse from the grasslands and the Gobi, and people will once again look up at the clear blue sky and enjoy a better life together.