Dramatic temperature changes and extreme weather events in Mongolia have been blamed for the deaths of thousands of livestock in recent years and is believed to be forcing hundreds of families each year to abandon their traditional nomadic farming ways. As world leaders prepare for the UN climate conference in Poland next month, Mongolians are pleading for international action.

Government figures show average temperatures have risen by about 2.2 degrees Celsius (4.0 degrees Fahrenheit) since systematic records began in 1940 — well above the global average rise of about 0.85 degrees Celsius (1.53 degrees Fahrenheit) since 1880.

Summers, when most of the rainfall occurs, have become drier, and “extreme climate events” have become more frequent, said G.Purevjav, head of climate research at Mongolia’s Information and Research Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment. In result, hundreds of rivers, lakes and springs have dried up across the country, the environment ministry says.