Ulaanbaatar
Number of soums in dzud condition increases
PoliticsUlaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ "As of December 31, 65 soums of 15 provinces are in dzud and 66 Soums of 14 provinces are in dzud-like condition”, revealed the latest report by Information and Research Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment.
The Government Resolution No. 286 concerning the procedure for transmitting forecast on extreme and dangerous weather conditions states that dzud is an extreme weather condition in which livestock loss is heavy due to lack of water and pasture. Based on its intensity, dzud is classified as either dzud or dzud-like with the latter indicating a milder situation.
On January 3, the Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment released a report on wintering situation over the last 10 days of December, 2016. The snow cover remains the same amount as the Institution's November report with increase in number of Soums at risk. About 70 percent of the total territory of Mongolia is covered in snow, and the depth of snow cover is 21-50 cm at its deepest with high density.
“So far, we’ve measured lesser area of snow cover than last year. But in certain places, especially in the northern parts of Mongolia, the snow cover is extremely deep. Domestic animals can’t dig through 30 cm deep snow which is high in density to graze. Herders reported that they began feeding their reserved forage and hay to the herd as soon as in November”, said Erdenetsetseg Baasandai, Head of Department of Agrometeorology at the Information and Research Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment.
