Nearly 5 million animals dead in Mongolia’s harshest winter in half a century, aid agencies say

Nearly 5 million animals dead in Mongolia’s harshest winter in half a century, aid agencies say

(CNN) — Mongolia is freezing through its harshest winter in half a century with extreme conditions killing more than 4.7 million animals and threatening the livelihoods and food supply of

The “dzud”, a meteorological phenomenon of major droughts followed by significant drops in temperature, affects the country and kills the livestock of Mongolian nomads. The Red Cross is sounding the alarm.

Severe weather kills 4.7 million Mongolian livestock

Over 4.7 million animals have died due to freezing conditions, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Mongolia is in the grip of the worst winter in the last half century. More than 4.7 million animals have already died as a result of the extreme cold, thousands of people are struggling to provide food and even survive. The Red Cross estimates that the effects of this year's cold will be worse than the winter of 2010, which contributed to the deaths of more than 10 million head of livestock.

Due to the severe cold, ice and snow that has plagued Mongolia for several months, huge numbers of animals are starving.

Extreme cold is killing millions of livestock animals in Mongolia, says Red Cross

Extreme cold and heavy snow are killing livestock across Mongolia in the millions, threatening the lives of herders there and many others.