Early Warning

Kazakhstan

11 August 2026

Installation of four automated monitoring stations — three at glacial lakes and one on the river itself — is nearing completion in the Talgar river basin, a key component of the early warning system for mudflow hazards being built under GLOFCA, a project supported by UNESCO and funded by the Adaptation Fund. The Talgar basin is one of the project’s pilot sites in Kazakhstan.

On August 8, Lieutenant General Shyngys Arinov, Minister of Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan, reviewed the stations on site alongside Amir Pirich, Director of the UNESCO Regional Office in Almaty, and Aslan Sabyrzhanuly, Director of Kazselezashchita.

Once all four stations are fully operational, Kazselezashchita specialists will be able to monitor water levels, hazardous riverbeds, and potentially dangerous moraine lakes in real time, allowing for a faster response to emerging threats. For the thousands of residents and visitors in the Talgar area, that means earlier warning during heavy rainfall and intense snowmelt — before danger reaches settlements, roads, and tourist routes downstream.

Before installation, the equipment was field-tested under conditions similar to those on site: limited power, no mobile network coverage, and data transmission through a hybrid network running on solar power. A dispatch center was also set up at Kazselezashchita’s office in Almaty to continuously receive and process data from the stations.

Located in the Ile Alatau mountains, the Talgar basin is one of GLOFCA’s highest-risk pilot sites, home to 22 glacial lakes, seven of which are classified as first-category mudflow hazards. Once installation is complete, the early warning system will become a key tool for alerting response teams and reducing risk to downstream communities and infrastructure.