The Times Of Central Asia | Eurasian Publication & News Online

When people think of Uzbekistan’s architectural heritage, the images are familiar: the turquoise domes of Samarkand, the madrasas of Bukhara, Khiva’s walled city, and the monuments of Shakhrisabz. But Uzbekistan’s history did not stop with the Silk Road. At its 48th session in July, UNESCO inscribed “Tashkent Modernist Architecture. Modernity and...

Caspian Pipeline Consortium

Kazakhstan Resumes CPC Oil Exports After Output More Than Halves

Rogun Dam

Italy Commits $150 Million to Tajikistans Rogun Hydropower Plant

Climate Change

Kyrgyzstan Records 348 Mudflows in Six Months, Highest Total in Decades

Kyrgyzstan recorded 348 mudflows during the first half of 2026, the highest number in 30 to 40 years, according to the Ministry of Emergency Situations and Kyrgyzhydromet. These violent torrents of water, mud, and boulders killed eight people and injured three. Roads, villages, and critical infrastructure are concentrated in narrow...

Russia's War in Ukraine

Why Tokayev Urged Putin to Freeze the War in Ukraine

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has delivered his most direct public appeal to Vladimir Putin for an end to Russia's war in Ukraine. Speaking alongside the Russian president during the 22nd Kazakhstan-Russia Interregional Cooperation Forum in Omsk on July 25, Tokayev called for freezing the war and returning to what he...

Taliban Troubles, Security Service Strife and the Deportation Divide

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Sunkar Podcast

Kazakhstan to Host 2027 Table Tennis World Championships

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Opinions

Uzbekistan’s Heritage Did Not Stop With the Silk Road

Mathieu Lemoine

Opinion: Kazakhstan’s Demining Expertise Could Provide Boost to Afghanistan

Timur Serikuly

Opinion: Uzbekistan Census – When the Village Reappears in the City

Zamirbek Minbaev

Opinion: The Specter Is Back – A Kazakh Warning to America

Askar Alimzhanov

Opinion: The Amu Darya Stress Test – Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and the Politics of Agricultural Adaptation

Zamirbek Minbaev

Opinion: Kazakhstan’s New Income Growth Plan – Administrative Measures Against Market Realities

Igor Klevtsov

Opinion: Central Asia’s Shift from Silk Road Romance to Infrastructure Finance – What the June Forums Are Building

Dr. Magsud Mammadov

UNDP Opinion: Central Asia – Shared Wildlife, Shared Landscapes, Shared Responsibility

UNDP Representatives in Kazakhstan, Katarzyna Wawiernia, Kyrgyzstan, Alexandra Solovieva, Tajikistan, Sudipto Mukerjee, Turkmenistan, Narine Sahakyan, Uzbekistan, Akiko Fujii.

Opinion: Beyond Multivectorism – What Kyrgyzstan’s UN Security Council Win Really Shows

Zamirbek Minbaev

Opinion: Eurasia’s New Corridors Are More Than a Transit Race

Aidar Borangaziyev

Opinion: Silk Seven or the OTS? Central Asia May Not Have to Choose

Ken Moriyasu

Opinion: How AI Is Reshaping the Global Image of Nations

Sergey Akhmetov

Business & Economy

Energy Security

Central Asia Rethinks Energy Security After the 2026 Fuel Crisis

The summer of 2026 marked a turning point for energy security in Central Asia. In July, drone strikes temporarily halted crude oil receipts and loadings at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s (CPC) marine terminal in Novorossiysk. Although CPC resumed normal operations on July 27, the incident exposed the vulnerability of one of the region’s principal export routes to external security risks. Russia, which for decades has been Central Asia’s principal supplier of refined petroleum products, has also faced prolonged pressure in its domestic fuel market. Reduced utilization at some refineries and rising domestic demand have created longer-term challenges. Restrictions on gasoline...

Opinion

Kazakhstan’s Mineral Future Still Carries an Oil Risk Premium

Digitalization

Kazakhstan to Pilot Unified Smart Turmys Utilities Platform

Artificial intelligence

Kazakhstan AI Infrastructure: Can It Become a Regional Hub?

EU Sanctions

EU Sanctions Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Firms in Latest Russia Package

e-Commerce

Wildberries Kazakhstan Sellers Count Losses After Ukraine Strikes

Over the past month, Ukrainian forces have carried out a series of strikes on the facilities of Russia's largest online marketplace, Wildberries. As with previous attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure, including that of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), the consequences are again being felt by citizens and businesses in neighboring countries, highlighting the extent to which the war's economic effects now extend far beyond the battlefield. Since July 18, Ukrainian strikes have hit Wildberries logistics facilities in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Crimea, as well as in Tver and Tambov Oblasts. According to the Russian business daily Kommersant, the attacks damaged...

Global Business Services

GBSF 2026 Highlights Uzbekistan’s Push for Global Business Services and AI

More than 450 participants from business and government, representing over 45 countries, gathered in Tashkent on July 24–25 for the Global Business Services Forum 2026. The event centered on Uzbekistan’s effort to become a regional center for global business services and business process outsourcing (BPO), with artificial intelligence (AI) also a major focus. Organizers described it as Central Asia’s largest international forum devoted to global business services and the digital economy. The forum follows May’s Global Tech Weekend in Tashkent, which brought more than 2,500 technology and investment professionals to the capital. Opening the forum, Uzbekistan’s Minister of Digital Technologies...

Caspian Pipeline Consortium

Kazakhstan Resumes CPC Oil Exports After Output More Than Halves

Kazakhstan resumed oil exports through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium on July 27 after the consortium restarted accepting crude and loading tankers at its Black Sea terminal near Novorossiysk. The Energy Ministry said the SEAMAJESTY and MILOS tankers were loading crude supplied by Tengizchevroil at two of the terminal’s single-point moorings. CPC said its pipeline had been back online since 12:28 p.m. Moscow time. Loading operations resumed after a week-long suspension. The ministry said terminal operations would continue according to assessments of the security situation and compliance with safety requirements. It remains in contact with CPC management, oil producers, and other...

Railway Infrastructure

Kyrgyzstan Opens New Railway as Japarov Alleges North-South Highway Embezzlement

Kyrgyzstan has opened a 63-kilometer railway between Balykchy and Kochkor, completing the first stage of a domestic route intended to reach the Kara-Keche coalfield and eventually connect the country’s divided rail network. President Sadyr Japarov travelled to the new Kochkor station by train on July 25. The line extends rail service from the western edge of Lake Issyk-Kul into Naryn Region, where difficult mountain terrain has long limited transport links. “We have revived the culture of railway construction, our engineering potential, and professional experience,” Japarov said. “This historic achievement proves that our country can independently carry out large infrastructure projects.”...

Local Politics

Islamic Finance

Uzbekistan Establishes Islamic Finance Council as New Banking Law Takes Effect

The Central Bank of Uzbekistan has established an Islamic Finance Council to coordinate the work of banks, microfinance organizations, the Deposit Guarantee Agency and other institutions operating under Islamic financial principles. The council was created weeks after Uzbekistan’s new Islamic banking law took effect on June 29. It will prepare national standards, issue regulatory and supervisory recommendations, advise financial institutions and represent the Central Bank in its work with international standard-setters. Building an Islamic Finance Framework Islamic finance prohibits interest and generally requires financing to be linked to assets, trade, leasing or risk-sharing. Common structures include murabaha, in which a...

Election Funding

Kazakhstan Allocates $73 Million for August Kurultai Elections

Women’s Empowerment

Tajikistan Develops Gender Equality Strategy and Expands Support for Women

Tax Policy

Uzbekistan Bank Data Plan Sparks Privacy and Tax Debate

Gender Quotas

Kazakhstan’s New Kurultai Elections: What the 30% Quota Could Mean for Women in Parliament

Public health

Kyrgyzstan Tests Public Health Emergency Response Ahead of World Nomad Games

Kyrgyzstan has carried out large-scale interagency public health emergency exercises as part of preparations for the sixth World Nomad Games, which will take place from August 31 to September 6. Authorities say health security has become one of the key components of planning for what is expected to be the country's largest international event of the year. The two-day simulation exercise was held on July 14-15 in Cholpon-Ata, in the Issyk-Kul region. It brought together representatives of the Ministry of Health, healthcare institutions, the World Health Organization (WHO), other government agencies, and international development partners. Participants rehearsed the response to...

Cardiac Surgery

Kazakhstan Joins World’s Top 30 Countries in Cardiac Surgery Development

Kazakhstan has entered the world’s top 30 countries for cardiac surgery, according to the Ministry of Health, citing the country’s growing use of advanced cardiovascular procedures, including heart transplantation and other high-tech surgical interventions. In 2025, Kazakhstan performed 13,106 open-heart surgeries, a 7.2% increase from the previous year. Coronary artery bypass grafting accounted for the largest share of procedures, at 46.1%. It is the standard surgical treatment for severe coronary artery disease and restores blood flow to the heart by bypassing blocked or narrowed arteries. Operations for acquired and congenital heart defects together accounted for 35.8% of all open-heart procedures....

Urban Development

Urbanization: Only One in Four Tajik Residents Lives in a City

While its regional neighbors are increasingly undergoing urbanization, Tajikistan remains a predominantly rural country and the gap with the rest of Central Asia on this indicator is one of the most notable in the post-Soviet space. The Lowest Rate in the Region As of mid-2026, Tajikistan’s urban population stands at 27.98%, in other words, only slightly more than one in four residents of the country lives in a city. For comparison with the rest of the region: in Kazakhstan, the urban population is around 59%; in Turkmenistan, around 52%; in Uzbekistan, around 50%; and in neighboring Kyrgyzstan, roughly 38%. Against...

President Tokayev

Kazakhstan Court Ruling Clears Legal Path for Tokayev to Seek Another Term

Kazakhstan’s Constitutional Court has ruled that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev may seek another term under the country’s 2026 Constitution, effectively resetting the count created under the previous Basic Law while leaving the single seven-year presidential term formally in place. The ruling, issued on July 7 after Tokayev’s request, addressed whether people who held senior offices under the 1995 Constitution could be elected or appointed to those posts under the new Basic Law, adopted in a March 15 referendum and in force since July 1. The offices covered include the president, the chair and judges of the Constitutional Court, the chair of...

International Affairs

Caspian Sea

As Two Wars Reach the Caspian, Central Asia’s Middle Corridor Holds

On July 25, two wars met in waters that Central Asian governments had tried to keep apart. Ukraine reported successful long-range strikes in the Caspian Sea. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the targets included vessels involved in carrying military cargo from Iran and a warship. Tehran said an Iranian commercial vessel had been struck, killing one sailor and injuring another, and accused Kyiv of trying to widen the war. It remains unclear whether the vessel identified by Iran was among the targets described by Zelenskyy. Diplomacy produced a limited off-ramp. On July 28, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told his Iranian...

Middle East Crisis

Turkmenistan Condemns Strike on Iranian Ship in Caspian Sea

Russia's War in Ukraine

Why Tokayev Urged Putin to Freeze the War in Ukraine

EU Sanctions

EU Sanctions Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Firms in Latest Russia Package

Black Sea Tanker Attacks

Huizenga Warns Kyiv Further Strikes on CPC “Will Not Be Tolerated”

U.S. Tariffs

U.S. Imposes 12.5% Tariff on Kazakhstan Over Third-Country Import Controls

Kazakhstan is the only Central Asian economy included in a new U.S. tariff action covering 60 trading partners. An additional tariff of 12.5% has been imposed on a range of Kazakh goods, excluding products listed in the annexes to the final decision. The rate applies to goods entered for consumption in the United States from July 24, 2026. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Trade and Integration said about 95% of the country’s exports to the United States would remain outside the measure because of the exemptions. It also said the new tariff replaces an expired temporary 10% surcharge and will not be...

Bilateral Relations

Kazakhstan Uzbekistan Council of Regional Leaders Holds First Meeting

The first meeting of the Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan Council of Regional Leaders was held in the Caspian city of Aktau on July 24, involving Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov and Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov, according to the Kazakh government. The new platform for regional cooperation is aimed at facilitating trade and investment, as well as strengthening transport links and cross-border partnerships. “We attach special importance to the comprehensive development of our strategic partnership with our brotherly Uzbekistan,” Bektenov said, describing the establishment of the Council of Regional Leaders as a "logical" step in the two countries' relationship. Bektenov noted that direct...

Russia's War in Ukraine

Tokayev Calls for Ukraine War Freeze as Black Sea and Caspian Risks Grow

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has called for Russia and Ukraine to freeze the war and return to negotiations, delivering one of his clearest public appeals for an end to the conflict while seated beside Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Perhaps this conflict should already be frozen and we should return to the Istanbul Formula 2.0, since significant results were achieved there," Tokayev said during talks in Omsk on July 25. He said major powers, including Russia, should provide security guarantees before the sides moved towards a lasting peace. Russia and Ukraine held talks in Istanbul soon after Russia's full-scale invasion in...

Black Sea Tanker Attacks

Kazakhstan Oil Output Falls 21% as CPC Halt More Than Halves Tengiz Production

Kazakhstan's oil and gas condensate output fell by about 21% on July 22 after the Caspian Pipeline Consortium stopped receiving Kazakh crude and suspended loadings at its Black Sea terminal. Output dropped to 1.63 million barrels per day from a July average of 2.07 million, Reuters said, citing an industry source. The sharpest reduction came at Tengiz, Kazakhstan's largest oilfield. Production fell by 56%, from an average 925,000 barrels per day in July to about 406,000 on Wednesday, reflecting how quickly a halt at Novorossiysk can force cuts at a field more than 1,500 kilometres away. Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry confirmed...

Life & Culture

Football

Dastan Satpayev Scores on Chelsea Debut

Kazakhstan international Dastan Satpayev has opened his account for Premier League club Chelsea, scoring in his first appearance for the London side, albeit in a pre-season friendly. Satpayev made his first appearance for Chelsea on July 28 at the age of 17, just weeks before his 18th birthday, after which he will become eligible to complete his move under FIFA regulations governing the international transfer of minors. Chelsea agreed to sign the Kazakhstan forward last year but postponed completion of the transfer until he reached the required age. Having joined the club for its pre-season preparations earlier this month, Satpayev...

Opinion

Uzbekistan’s Heritage Did Not Stop With the Silk Road

TCA Interviews

From Instagram to Hollywood: How Kazakhstan’s Yerlan Tanay Became a Sought-After Colorist

Korean Culture

K-Pop in Central Asia: Why Korean Pop Culture Has Captured a Generation

Boxing

Kazakhstan’s Zhanibek Alimkhanuly Moves to Super Middleweight After Doping Ban

Film Festival

How Kyrgyzstan Used the SCO Film Festival to Raise Its International Profile

Kyrgyzstan hosted the first International Film Festival of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states from July 16 to 19, marking the country’s largest international cinema event to date. Held at the Rukh Ordo cultural center in Cholpon-Ata to coincide with the SCO’s 25th anniversary, the festival brought together delegations from Kyrgyzstan, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Iran, and Belarus. Each country presented one feature film, while an international jury chaired by Kyrgyz writer and director Ernest Abdyzhaparov selected the winners. The Grand Prix went to the Kyrgyz film Kara Kyzyl Sary (“Black, Red, Yellow”), giving the host nation a symbolic...

UNESCO World Heritage List

UNESCO Adds Mangystau Rock Mosques to World Heritage List

UNESCO has inscribed the Rock Mosques and Associated Sacred Sites of Mangystau on its World Heritage List, following a decision adopted during the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee in Busan, South Korea, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Culture and Information said. The same session also inscribed Tashkent Modernist Architecture, giving Central Asia two new cultural inscriptions. The serial property, located on the Mangystau Peninsula bordering the Caspian Sea, comprises five sacred complexes: Beket-Ata, Shopan-Ata, Karaman-Ata, Shakpak-Ata, and Sultan-Epe. According to the World Heritage Committee, the site represents an outstanding sacred landscape shaped by centuries of interaction between Sufi spiritual traditions...

FIFA World Cup

Uzbekistan’s Shomurodov Shortlisted for World Cup Goal Award

Uzbekistan captain Eldor Shomurodov’s goal against the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been shortlisted for the Hyundai Goal of the Tournament award at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Uzbek forward is among 12 finalists selected by FIFA. The winner will be decided by a public vote on FIFA’s official platform. Shomurodov scored in Uzbekistan’s final group-stage match, lifting the ball over goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi from a tight angle to give his team an early lead. DR Congo recovered to win the match 3-1, ending Uzbekistan’s first World Cup campaign with three defeats. The goal had already won the...

Tourism

Japarov Says Tourist Flow to Kyrgyzstan Has Reached 13 Million as Central Asia’s Travel Boom Accelerates

President Sadyr Japarov says the number of tourists visiting Kyrgyzstan has reached 13 million, although his July 21 statement did not specify the reporting period or methodology behind the figure. For a country of roughly seven million people, the reported total is nearly twice the size of its population. Kyrgyzstan’s official tourism statistics count border crossings rather than unique visitors, meaning the same traveler may be counted more than once. Japarov said the total had risen from 2-3 million annual visitors before 2020-2021. However, official tourism datasets have used different measures over time, so the comparison should be treated cautiously....

Justice

amnesty

Kazakhstan Amnesty Clears $48 Million in Unpaid Fines

Kazakhstan has written off unpaid administrative fines for more than 680,000 people under the country’s first administrative amnesty, Prosecutor General Berik Asylov said. The amnesty was applied to 681,700 people in 1.3 million administrative cases in less than a month, according to Asylov. The canceled fines were worth 22.8 billion tenge, or approximately $48 million. Asylov published the figures in a post on X. The measure formed part of an amnesty signed on July 1, the day Kazakhstan’s new Constitution took effect. It extended an amnesty to selected administrative offenses for the first time, alongside provisions covering criminal cases. It...

Domestic Violence

After Bishimbayev, Kazakhstan’s Domestic Violence Laws Face an Enforcement Test

Artificial intelligence

Kazakhstan Police Robot Dog Raises Privacy Questions

Labor Migration

Nearly 160,000 Citizens of Tajikistan Listed in Russia’s Controlled Persons Register

Fraud

Uzbekistan Busts Scam Call Centers Targeting Europe and North America

Press Freedom

Tajikistan Frees Two Journalists as Press Freedom Concerns Persist

An international media rights group has welcomed the release from prison of two journalists in Tajikistan, while urging the government to free others who remain in jail. Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, said Zavkibek Saidamini and Abdusattor Pirmukhammadzoda were freed on July 18 after four years in detention. “They should never have been jailed, just like their colleagues, who must also be released,” RSF said. The two journalists were sentenced to seven years in prison in 2022 after being convicted of links to groups labeled as extremist, and were released under an amnesty law that was passed by Tajikistan’s parliament...

Rule of Law

Former Tajik Prosecutor’s Office Investigator Detained in Case of 23-Year-Old Woman’s Death

Tajikistan’s prosecutor general has confirmed that a former senior investigator is in custody in connection with the death of 23-year-old Mehrona Noibova, whose body was found near the Pyanj River in April. At a July 22 press conference, Prosecutor General Khabibullo Vokhidzoda said criminal proceedings had been opened against Firuz Saidzoda, formerly a senior investigator for especially important cases at the Prosecutor General’s Office. He said Saidzoda remained in detention while the investigation continued. The case was opened under Article 109, Part 1 of Tajikistan’s Criminal Code, a provision which covers causing a person to take or attempt to take...

Internet Restrictions

A Signal from Uzbekistan: How Turkmen Border Villages Reach the Outside World

In Diýýar, a village in northern Turkmenistan close enough to catch Uzbekistan’s mobile signal, a foreign SIM card inserted into a small Wi-Fi router can turn a barely functioning 2G connection into usable home internet. In early July, police reportedly entered around ten households in the village, identified Uzbek-connected routers, and confiscated the SIM cards. Similar inspections have been under way across close to 60 settlements in Dashoguz Province, according to Radio Azatlyk, the Turkmen Service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The campaign covers parts of Shabat and Görogly districts, including Kirov, Diýýar, Bedirkent, Aýlak, and Nyýazow, in areas where...

Traffic Offenses

Kazakhstan Olympic Boxing Champion Jailed for Drunk Driving After Multiple Crashes

Kazakhstan’s 2016 Olympic boxing champion Daniyar Yeleussinov has been sentenced to 20 days of administrative detention and banned from driving for seven years after being found guilty of driving under the influence and causing several traffic accidents in Astana. According to Astana’s Specialized Interdistrict Administrative Court, Yeleussinov admitted his guilt during the hearing. The ruling has not yet entered into legal force and may be appealed within 10 days. The incident occurred in Astana on July 9, when police detained Yeleussinov after he allegedly drove while intoxicated, causing a series of collisions and leaving the scenes of the accidents. According...

Environment

Public Health

Kazakhstan and China Launch One Health Research Center in Almaty

Kazakhstan and China have opened a joint research center in Almaty focused on infectious diseases and biosafety. The Center for One Health Research opened on July 27 at the Kazakh National Agrarian Research University, known as KazNARU. It was created under Kazakhstan’s National Academy of Sciences in cooperation with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. During the opening ceremony, four institutions signed a memorandum covering joint research and academic exchanges. The signatories were Kazakhstan’s National Academy of Sciences, KazNARU, Zhejiang University, and the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The center will support research into microbiology, veterinary medicine,...

Climate Change

Kyrgyzstan Records 348 Mudflows in Six Months, Highest Total in Decades

Groundwater Management

Kazakhstan Hydrogeologists Complete Six-Month USGS Groundwater Training

TCA Interviews

Saving The Caspian Seal: An Interview with Assel Baimukanova

Plastic Recycling

From Waste to Design: How UpKel Is Rethinking Plastic Recycling in Kyrgyzstan

Rogun Dam

Italy Commits $150 Million to Tajikistans Rogun Hydropower Plant

The World Bank Group and Italy’s state-controlled development bank, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), have signed a co-financing agreement to support construction of Tajikistan’s Rogun Hydropower Plant, CDP and the World Bank’s office in Tajikistan said. The signing ceremony took place at Tajikistan’s Ministry of Finance in Dushanbe. Under the agreement, the Italian Climate Fund will provide $150 million for the project. The funds will be managed by CDP on behalf of Italy’s Ministry of Environment and Energy Security. CDP said the financing would support construction work on the right bank of the Rogun Dam. The Rogun Hydropower Plant is...

World Bank

World Bank Approves $20 Million Project to Boost Cross-Border Water Cooperation in Central Asia

The World Bank has announced a $20 million grant to strengthen transboundary water cooperation in Central Asia. The project is intended to improve management of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya basins as climate change, ageing infrastructure, and rising demand increase pressure on shared water resources. The funding, approved by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors, will support the Central Asia Water Efficiency Cooperation Project (CAWEC). It will be implemented by the Executive Committee of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (EC IFAS). EC IFAS’s current procurement notice identifies Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan as the participating...

Extreme Heat

Extreme Heat Buckles Roads and Strains Power Grids Across Central Asia

Extreme heat across Central Asia in mid-July has buckled concrete highways, pushed electricity demand to record levels, and increased pressure on power grids and ambulance services. Kazakhstan reported road deformation and repeated failures in Almaty, Uzbekistan set consumption and generation records, Kyrgyzstan introduced temporary cuts to protect equipment, and residents in Tajikistan reported local disruptions. Temperatures above 40°C are common in parts of the region, but prolonged heat can strain several systems at once. Demand for cooling rises, road surfaces reach damaging temperatures, and health risks increase. The World Bank says much of Central Asia’s infrastructure was built in the...

Heatwave

Kazakhstan Wildfires: Heatwave Tests Reforms Three Years After Semey Ormany

Between July 5 and 11, Kazakhstan’s state forest fund recorded 43 wildfires as an intense heatwave pushed much of the country into conditions of high and extreme fire danger. The Ministry of Ecology said all of the fires were contained before they could develop into large-scale disasters. For Kazakhstan, however, the significance of those figures extends beyond a single week. Three years after the deadly Semey Ormany wildfire exposed serious shortcomings in the country’s emergency response system, each fire season has become a test of whether the reforms introduced since 2023 are keeping pace with increasingly severe weather conditions. How...