Mongolia is experiencing the coldest winter in 50 years, livestock are dying en masse

Mongolia is experiencing the coldest winter in the last half century. Because of this, there is a mass loss of cattle, which, in turn, threatens the cattle breeders – the main population of the country – with starvation. Now more than seven thousand families are experiencing a lack of food, reports the Red Cross, and forecasts indicate that the situation will worsen in the near future.

Frosts of about -30 – 40 degrees Celsius with heavy snowfall have been established in Mongolia since November. Pastures are covered with snow and ice. Because of the impossibility of feeding, goats, sheep and horses are dying en masse. During the winter, according to the estimates of the Red Cross, 4.7 million cattle have already died. At least 2,250 peasant families lost more than 70% of their herds.

A natural disaster, when, due to sharp temperature changes and severe frosts, the steppe is covered with a thick layer of snow or a crust of ice, and animals cannot reach the foot feed and water, is called in Mongolia “dzud” (“no feed”). The mass death of cattle from hunger and dehydration becomes a catastrophe for cattle breeders – there are about 300,000 of them in Mongolia. They lead a traditional way of life, and livestock for them is their own food and the only source of income.

Director of the Red Cross for the Asia-Pacific region, Alexander Mathieu, told CNN that “dzud” in Mongolia was a rare phenomenon, but has become more common in the last decade. This is due to global climate change. According to UN estimates, over the past 80 years, the average annual temperature in Mongolia has risen by 2.46 degrees Celsius. Summer in the region is becoming hotter and drier, and winter is colder and snowier, which creates extremely unfavorable conditions for people and animals.

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