At the start of the new year, the Iberian Peninsula and the south of France were hit by an extraordinary storm of cold and snow, unprecedented in some territories. Heavy snowfalls, with accumulations of more than 50 cm of snow in two days, have kept much of the centre and east of the peninsula as well as the south of France on alert for this extreme weather event.

On the occasion of the International Mountain Day, celebrated every year on 11 December, the Permanent Mission of the Kyrgyz Republic to the United Nations has organized a commemorative event in collaboration with the Group of Friends of Mountainous Countries, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).