ULAN BATOR, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Around 6.6 million or 10.2 percent of Mongolia's livestock have so far perished in the extreme wintry weather known as "dzud," the country's State Emergency Commission (SEC) said Friday.
"Dzud" is a Mongolian term to describe a severely cold winter when a large number of livestock die because the ground is frozen or covered in snow.
Out of the country's 21 provinces, eastern Sukhbaatar has been the most affected, with a loss of 1.6 million livestock, the SEC said in a statement.
"Although the snow has almost completely melted across the country, the livestock death toll continues to increase due to the current severe spring," said the SEC.
Mongolia has a harsh continental climate, with frequent strong winds, dust and snow storms in spring.
Currently, the Asian country has destroyed about 10 percent of all livestock carcasses, according to the country's Ministry of Environment and Tourism.
Last winter, Mongolia saw record snowfall, the largest since 1975, and around 90 percent of its territory had been covered with snow up to 100 centimeters thick.
Mongolia, one of the last surviving nomadic countries in the world, has elevated its disaster preparedness to high alert due to the harsh winter and big livestock loss. ■
