Harsh Mongolian winter threatens disaster
Mongolia's traditional nomads are facing a natural disaster known as 'dzud,' where frigid temperatures and heavy snow cause widespread livestock deaths, threatening herders' livelihoods.
Another unusually harsh winter in Mongolia that's decimating livestock and sending temperatures to minus 56 degrees Celsius (minus 70 Fahrenheit) may create a humanitarian crisis, with worse conditions still to come, aid groups warn.
Mongolians are already struggling with an economic crisis which has seen the currency, the tugrik, depreciate rapidly, making household goods more expensive.
Weather forecasts for next week are predicting temperatures as low as between minus 40 and minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 40-58 degrees Fahrenheit) in northern and eastern Mongolia. Government officials have yet to declare a dzud, but the current climate is ideal for the natural disaster, said Lamjav Oyunjargal, the director for forecasting at the Information and Research Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment.
"Officially, conditions are very difficult in Mongolia. Mostly we talk about livestock because it's the main income of herder people in Mongolia, but it's also dangerous for humans," Oyunjargal said.
http://www.dw.com/en/harsh-mongolian-winter-threatens-disaster/a-36891689
= new reply since forum marked as read
