Photographs and Words by Zachary Handley
Stretching across Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, and China, the Pamir Mountains form part of the Third Pole, the world’s largest body of alpine ice and freshwater outside the Arctic and Antarctica. Often referred to as the “Roof of the World,” this high-altitude region supplies water to nearly 2 billion people across Central and South Asia, yet remains one of the least-studied mountain systems on Earth.
Over the past 50 years, temperatures across the Third Pole rose nearly twice as fast as the global average. In Kyrgyz nomadic communities, this uncertain climate shapes their lives. It dictates the timing of movement, the availability of pastures, and the viability of herds. Livelihoods are dependent upon seasonal grasslands, glacial meltwater, and weather patterns that guide routes across the mountains. Having endured centuries of political and ideological change, these communities now face shifting environmental and economic conditions that put their pastoral culture at a critical juncture.
Rooted in Tajikistan’s Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region and the borderlands surrounding Peak Lenin, this series documents human presence within one of the world’s most consequential and rapidly changing mountainous environments.
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The Nomadic Communities Navigating a Warming Third Pole
The Nomadic Communities Navigating a Warming Third Pole
