A dry climate with short, mild summers and long, severe winters (October to April). Some rain falls during summer and there is snow during winter.

Mediumweights are worn during summer, with very warm heavyweights advised for winter.

Mongolia has a 3,485km (2,165-mile) border with the Russian Federation in the north and a 4,670km (2,902-mile) border with China in the south. From north to south, it can be divided into four areas: mountain-forest steppe, mountain steppe and, in the extreme south, semi-desert and desert (the latter being about 3% of the entire territory). The majority of the country has a high elevation, with the principal mountains concentrated in the west. The highest point is the peak of Tavan Bogd, in the Altai Mountains, at 4,374m (14,350ft) high. The lowest point, Khukh Nuur lake, in the east, lies at 560m (1,820ft). There are several hundred lakes in the country and numerous rivers, of which the Orkhon is the longest at 1,124km (698 miles).