The International Red Cross says that over 665,000 people across 17 of Mongolia’s 21 provinces are struggling to survive this winter, and the cold is expected to kill millions of livestock. This is the fourth year that extreme winter conditions called “dzud” (a winter disaster that follows widespread drought in the summer and is specific to Mongolia) will devastate animals and herders of this region. At least 24,000 animals have perished since the beginning of this year, and the three preceding dzuds have already killed over six million livestock. This has left thousands of families without any form of subsistence, and many are unable to cope. Tens of thousands of people have flooded into urban areas where there is no welfare structure in place and unemployment is soaring. There has also been a dramatic rise in cases of depression and mental illness among herder families. The Red Cross is hoping to raise $2.7 million US in aid. For more information on Cultural Survival’s work with reindeer herding communities in Mongolia see here.
