ULAN BATOR, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Over half a million livestock carcasses have been destroyed across Mongolia, the country's Ministry of Environment and Tourism said on Tuesday.

"As of today, at least 513,948 animal carcasses have been destroyed in 677 locations of 87,248 square meters nationwide," the ministry said in a statement.

The toll of livestock deaths due to severe wintry conditions, commonly known as "dzud," has surged to over 5.9 million so far this winter in Mongolia.

"Dzud" is a Mongolian term describing a severely cold winter when a large number of livestock die because the ground is frozen or covered in snow.

Almost all provinces of the Asian country have experienced harsh weather conditions this winter, and over 80 percent of the country has been blanketed by snow, prompting the government to elevate its disaster preparedness to high alert.

The promotion of livestock husbandry is seen as the most viable way to diversify the landlocked country's mining-dependent economy.

As one of the last surviving nomadic countries in the world, the country had 64.7 million heads of livestock at the end of 2023, according to the National Statistics Office. Enditem

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