FIGURE 5.8 Photo Essay: Vulnerability to Climate Change in Russia and the Post-Soviet States Vulnerability to climate change is at medium levels throughout much of this region, but at high and extreme levels in Central Asia, which is highly exposed to drought and water scarcity. Both problems will worsen as temperatures rise and glaciers in the Pamirs and other mountains melt. The dependence of so many Central Asians on agriculture makes them very sensitive to these problems, and widespread poverty, combined with poorly developed disaster response systems, reduces their overall resilience to these and other disturbances. 5.8a Courtesy Martin Moos/Lonely Planet Images/Getty Images, 5.8b Courtesy Vyacheslav Oseledko/AFP/Getty Images, 5.8c Courtesy Andrew Peacock/Lonely Planet Images/Getty Images