DISAPPEARING GLACIERS

March 3, 2026

It pains me to see our glaciers – which for centuries fed rivers and lakes – disappearing so quickly. The mountains, once proud symbols of our country, now seem to cry out for help.

Each year, the summers grow hotter, the rains come less often, and winter brings almost no snow. In the villages, it’s especially visible: harvests are shrinking, and it’s becoming harder for people to grow food – for many, their only means of survival.

Sometimes it feels like no one notices this crisis. People keep littering, cutting down trees, and wasting water. But this is our home!
Kyrgyzstan isn’t just a place on the map — it’s what we will leave behind.

Photograph by Alexander Burnashov, 14
Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Text by Mastura Abdiraiymova, 15
Osh, Kyrgyzstan
DISAPPEARING GLACIERS