With support from international partners, the Mongolian Red Cross (MRS) has provided 1.2 billion MNT (50.1 million U.S. dollars) to 4,500 herder families whose livelihoods are at risk from severe winter conditions, the leader of the agency said on Monday.

MRS General Director N.Bolormaa also praised Mongolian children for donating a total of 140 million MNT worth of products (58, 479 U.S. dollars) to nomadic herders affected by the extreme wintry weather known as ‘dzud.’

A total of 80 administrative subdivisions in 15 of Mongolia’s 21 provinces have been affected by the dzud. The dzud is a brutal weather phenomenon in Mongolia where a dry summer followed by a frigid winter kills vast numbers of livestock either by starvation or cold.

Last summer, around 70 percent of the Mongolian territory suffered drought and many thousands of herder households did not prepare haycocks. Over 711, 000 animals have died since the beginning of this year in the country due to the dzud. Nearly 40 percent of the country’s nomad population is dependent on animal husbandry and rain-fed agriculture for livelihood.