The climate of Mongolia is harsh continental with sharply defined seasons, high annual and diurnal temperature fluctuations, low rainfall and a very short growing season. Mongolia has experienced significant impacts from climate change, and it has been suggested that these impacts have led to significant degradation to the extensive grasslands of the iconic Mongolian steppes. This paper presents research results of the effects of climate parameters on the biomass of the steppes of central northern Mongolia as determined by the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). NDVI shows a negative correlation with temperature and, as maximum temperature has been increasing over the last three decades, NDVI is now lower than the high values of the 1980s. NDVI also shows a positive correlation with annual precipitation, and a dramatic drop in NDVI that occurred in 1995 is related to changes in large-scale climate patterns combining to reduce rainfall. A northward movement of the tracks of rain-bearing cyclones away from Mongolia and a change in ENSO from El Nino to La Nina suppressed convective rainfall events. Moderation of climate extremes led to some recovery of the NDVI, but dramatic increases in the number of livestock are again producing a loss of biomass leaving the region open to catastrophe whether climate again returns to extreme conditions.