Located in the heart of Eurasia and far from any oceans, Kazakhstan is experiencing one of the fastest rates of climate change globally. Its inland geography accelerates warming, making the country highly vulnerable to environmental shifts.

According to Kazakhstan’s national meteorological service (Kazhydromet), average temperatures have been rising by approximately 0.36 °C per decade nationwide, with western regions seeing even faster increases of up to 0.56 °C. The warming trend is leading to longer warm seasons, fewer freezing days, and milder winters.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, at the Sustainable Development Summit in Abu Dhabi, identified climate change as a major threat to Central Asia. He emphasized the urgent need for adaptation strategies, particularly due to the region’s heavy reliance on transboundary water sources and climate-sensitive agriculture.

The winter of 2024–2025 was among the warmest ever recorded in Kazakhstan. Some northern areas experienced temperatures exceeding the norm by more than 5 °C, with Ust-Kamenogorsk seeing a deviation of 7.6 °C above average.

Environmental advocate Timur Yeleusizov warns that Kazakhstan is at the peak of climate change impacts. With annual temperature increases of 0.3–0.5 °C, the country is warming faster than the global average. He highlights the lack of large bodies of water and the extremely low forest cover (only 4.8%) as critical vulnerabilities. Technologies like those used in China and the U.S. to reduce evaporation from reservoirs could help, but are yet to be implemented in Kazakhstan.

NASA reports confirm that 2024 was the hottest year globally since records began in 1880, with average temperatures 1.28 °C above 20th-century norms. Kazakhstan must act swiftly to protect its water resources, expand greenery, and adopt sustainable technologies to combat intensifying climate risks.