Extreme cold winter freezes Mongolia

At least 10 Mongolian provinces were experiencing the extreme wintry weather, known as "dzud," the National Agency for Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring said on Monday, reports Xinhua.

 "Currently, at least 23 soums in 10 provinces of the country are experiencing dzud, and 41 soums in 13 provinces are facing near-dzud conditions," the agency said.

 Over 60 percent of the nomadic country's territory has been covered with snow of up to 30 cm thick, it said.

 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 by snow.

 Some 366,000 head of livestock have been killed this year due to the harsh winter and other reasons, according to the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry.