ULAN BATOR, Nov.14 (Xinhua) -- Large parts of Mongolia are likely to experience the extreme wintry weather "dzud" this winter, local media reported Tuesday, citing the country's National Agency for Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring.

A dzud is a brutal weather phenomenon in which a frigid winter kills vast numbers of livestock, either by starvation or freezing weather conditions.

"A recent risk assessment of the dzud showed that more than 50 percent of the total territory of our country is at high risk of experiencing dzud this winter, and 40 percent is at medium risk," the weather monitoring agency said in a statement.

Specifically, southern Gobi areas and western parts of the country, which experienced a bad summer, are very likely to experience the harsh winter, it said.

The livestock sector is a central pillar of the Mongolian economy, while the country's livestock population totaled 71.1 million by the end of 2022.

A dzud in 2016 killed more than 1 million livestock in Mongolia, a nation where pastoral herding is still common.

Around 60 percent of the Asian country's territory has so far been covered by snow after a heavy storm hit the country earlier this month, according to the agency. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)