Almost 100,000 livestock die due to severe cold in Mongolia so far in 2020

Extreme wintry weather has killed 99,400 livestock animals in the northern Mongolian province of Bulgan alone this year, the provincial agricultural department said Monday.

In extreme wintry weather, known as "dzud," livestock will starve because they are unable to find nourishing food due to the snow cover.

Animal husbandry is the backbone of the country's national economy. Nearly 40 percent of the nomadic population depend on it for their livelihood.

Thousands of herders lose their animals to dzud almost every year, with more than 1 million animal fatalities back in 2016.