A total of 567,600 head of livestock have died in Mongolia so far this year due to the extreme wintry weather known as “dzud”.

The number of dead animals is up nearly 10 percent compared to the same period last year, and around 85 percent of the dead animals are goats and sheep.

Snowfall covered up to around 70 percent of the country, with more than 60 administrative subdivisions in half of all 21 provinces of the country experiencing dzud or near dzud conditions.

Among the provinces, Khentii and Sukhbaatar in the east, Arkhangai in the central west, as well as Khovd and Uvs in the west registered the highest rates of animal death.

Mongolia, one of the last nomadic countries in the world, had 71.1 million livestock animals at the end of 2022.  The promotion of livestock husbandry is seen as the most viable way to diversify the landlocked country’s mining-dependent economy.