ULAN BATOR, Aug 2 (NNN-XINHUA) – Severe weather conditions killed a total of 2.4 million heads of livestock across Mongolia, in the first half of this year, the country’s national statistics office said today.
Extreme wintry weather known as dzud, heavy snow and dust storms, and drought are the main causes of the animal deaths, the statistics office said.
Around 70 percent of the livestock deaths occurred in four provinces, namely Bayankhongor, Dundgovi, Uvurkhangai and Govi-Altai, which had suffered mostly from heavy snow and dust storms in the spring of this year.
Nearly 90 percent of the dead animals were goats and sheep.
Animal husbandry is the backbone of the landlocked country’s economy, as nearly 40 percent of its nomads depend on animal husbandry for their livelihoods.– NNN-XINHUA
