Over seven million livestock have died in Mongolia this year, which is more than a tenth of the country's entire livestock population. This is due to the extreme weather phenomenon "dzud" which almost exclusively affects Mongolia.
The weather phenomenon is a combination of dry summers and extremely cold winters and primarily occurs in Mongolia, but can also occur in other parts of Central Asia.
Extremely heavy snowfalls form impenetrable layers of snow and ice, making it impossible for the animals to graze and leading to starvation. At other times of the year, drought occurs, meaning there is not enough fodder for the animals to fatten up for the winter. Due to climate change, "dzud" is becoming harsher and more frequent. This year's "dzud" is the sixth to occur in the last ten years.
Thousands of families have lost over 70 per cent of their livestock. The total death toll could rise to 14.9 million animals, or nearly 24 per cent of Mongolia's total livestock population, the country's vice prime minister has said, according to state media.
Nomadic livestock herding is central to Mongolia's economy and culture. The country's constitution refers to its 65 million camels, yaks, cattle, sheep, goats, and horses as its "national treasure".
