Over 120 delegates from the Mongolian National Emergency Management (NEMA) and the country’s National Agency for Meteorology and Environment Monitoring (NAMEM) held a meeting, earlier today (12th of October), in order to prepare for the coming winter. NAMEM reported that 2017 was the hottest in 40 years, since proper  records began; in addition, it also was the year with the least rainfall. Drought affected 75 percent of Mongolian territory or 247 soums (districts) of the country’s 21 provinces. Last winter was particularly severe – in Mongolian this is known as a ‘dzud’, when the weather kills the livestock. The combination of the ‘dzud’ followed by the summer  has created “an unfolding humanitarian crisis,”.

The Mongolian government has distributed a total of MNT 700 million to provinces from the State Budget. Now, the priority is preparing for the winter, which some consider may also be a ‘dzud’.