9 Mongolian provinces experience harsh wintry weather

ULAN BATOR, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- At least nine of all the 21 Mongolian provinces have been experiencing extreme wintry weather, known as "dzud," the country's National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said Wednesday.

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 with snow.

"At least nine provinces, including Uvs, Khovd and Zavkhan in the west, as well as Uvurkhangai in the central and Selenge in the north, are now experiencing the dzud," the NEMA said in a statement.

In addition, 16 provinces are experiencing near-dzud conditions, the emergency agency said.

Animal husbandry is one of the main pillars of the Mongolian economy, and almost 40 percent of the country's nomadic population depends on it.

However, due to the harsh and long winter, most of Mongolia's nomadic herders lose livestock every year.

According to NSO, Mongolia had 58.1 million head of livestock at the end of 2025.■