Electrifying Asia – where EVs are reshaping power demand and fuel use
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Amid the climate crisis and glacier melt, mountainous Kyrgyzstan recorded 348 mudflows in the first half of 2026, the highest total in 30-40 years. Eight people lost their lives in the local disasters.
The number of mudslides is also nearly five times the roughly 70 recorded in the same period of 2025, according to the Ministry of Emergency Situations and state hydrometeorological service Kyrgyzhydromet. As well as the fatalities, three people were recorded as injured and damage amounting to an estimated Kyrgyzstani som (KGS) 399mn ($4.56mn) was caused
The mudflows damaged 668 hectares of farmland and prompted the evacuation of 236 people from hazardous areas. The deadliest single incident struck the Osh-Alay highway, where a mudflow swept a vehicle from the road killing six.
Batken, Jalal-Abad, Osh and Talas regions have proved the most vulnerable to mudflows, with many roads, bridges and residential buildings destroyed.
Officials linked the surge to several overlapping factors, according to The Times of Central Asia’s report on the mudflow mayhem. Those factors were outlined as intense localised downpours, earlier snow and glacier melt, settlement expansions into hazardous mountain valleys, inadequate protective infrastructure, pasture degradation and forest loss. Kyrgyzhydromet estimates the glacial area in the country has declined by around 16% in recent decades, with retreating glaciers forming new high-altitude lakes that become increasingly vulnerable to incidences of burst banks, causing floods during intense rainfall or rapid melt events.
Despite the record mudflow count, the death toll was significantly lower compared to the 25 fatalities caused by mudslides last year. The ministry attributed the fewer deaths to the provision of earlier warnings, more effective evacuations and expanded preventive measures.
Kyrgyzstan is developing AI-based forecasting tools for glacial lake-burst floods in the Tian Shan mountains with KG Labs and international partners. The ministry already operates a separate AI system monitoring high-altitude lakes.
The high-risk season for mudslides typically extends into autumn, meaning mountain communities and transport corridors will be exposed for several more months.
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