DZUDS IN MONGOLIA: CAUSES, IMPACTS, BLIZZARDS, RESPONSES

BLIZZARDS IN MONGOLIA

Mongolia: Snow cover map (as of March 10 2026)

Blizzards in Mongolia can dump a meter of snow and reduce visibility to one meter. A blizzard in 2001 killed 29 people in Inner Mongolia. Most lost their way in the white out. Some 300,000 head of livestock froze to death. The worst affected area was the Xilin Gol region. Families that didn’t suffer to badly lost only 15 cows and 10 sheep.

In early 2001, Mongolia was struck by a huge blizzard that produced gale-force winds and meter-deep snow. Herders brought their prized animals inside their gers to keep them warm through the freezing cold nights and awoke to find that the rest of their herds had frozen death. One herder told U.S. News and World Report, “The winter was so cold all the animals died at once.”

Some 7,400 herding families lost their entire herds, 13,000 lost half. Dead, frozen animals were piled up like cords of woods. Skeletons littered the deserts and steppes. Some herders were killed. Most of them lost their way in the whiteout, looking for their animals, and froze to death.

One family that lost 170 of its 200 animals told the Los Angeles Times, “For a family of seven, less than 40 animals is nothing. They’ll need five to 10 animals just to provide their food in the winter, and things will get worse.

Killer Mongolian Blizzard s in 2008

Some killer blizzards have occurred in late spring, Snowstorms in Mongolia in May 2008 killed at least 21 people and left 100 others missing. Associated Press reported: “The State Emergency Authority said that heavy snow and strong winds have hit three provinces in eastern Mongolia. It said most of the victims were herders who were frozen to death and that hundreds of livestock also died. The Emergency Authority said telephone poles and communication lines were also snapped.The death toll could rise as communications links are restored. [Source: Associated Press, May 27, 2008] + -
▪ According to the People’s Daily: “At least 21 people were frozen to death in a heavy snowstorm which swept through seven provinces in Mongolia since Monday, said the Mongolian General Authority for Emergency Management (GAEM). GAEM is still in search of 51 people who got lost in the snowstorm. In the eastern province of Suhbaatar, the wind speed had once reached 40 meters per second. The snowstorm has also caused damage to buildings and electronic infrastructure, according to the GAEM. Snowstorms usually occur in spring in Mongolia. [Source: People’s Daily, May 28, 2008]

Xinhua reported: “The death toll from a heavy snowstorm which swept through seven provinces in Mongolia rose to 29 said GAEM. Seven children were among the dead and another 26 people were still missing, the authority said. [Source: Xinhua, May 28, 2008]

Dzuds

regions of Mongolia hardest hit by dzuds Researchgate

The Mongolia word “dzud” (zud) refers to weather conditions that prevents animals from getting enough grass to eat. It usually refers to a cycle of summer droughts followed by an extraordinarily cold winter with heavy snow and ice. Animals, underfed from the drought, simply don’t have the strength to fight and endure spells of harsh cold and dig through ice and snow for grass.

The dzud causes great hardship for herders on the steppe, often killing off entire herds of animals. The drought in the summer leaves animals weak and skinny, plus causes shortages of hay needed to keep the animals going in the winter. The most difficult times are often in the following spring when the food supplies begin to run out. When the animals die in the winter, they are frozen in cold temperatures. The meat can be eaten later.

Dzuds tend to be localized events that affect some people seriously and don’t affect others. Cows are often the first to go followed by horses, sheep, camels and goats. One herder said, “The dzud—it happens sometimes. It’s survival. It’s our karma.”

Dzud of 1999-2000 and Other Nasty Dzuds

In the winters of 1999-2000 and 200-2001 there were two devastating dzuds in a row that wiped an estimated 20 percent of Mongolia’s livestock. There was a reasonably bad dzud in 2002-2003, followed by a mild winter in 2003-2004. Between 1944 and 1998 there were eight dzuds. Usually about 3 million animals die in dzud. A particularly nasty one in 1944 left 8 million animals dead. Describing the Great Dzud of 1944, one woman told the Los Angeles Times, ‘The dzud covered nearly all the world in the Year of the Monkey...Only one cow in the entire valley.” Some dzuds have been so destructive that even yaks froze to death.

A fierce winter and dzud in 1999-2000 was particularly devastating in the Gobi.. Cold temperatures, ice and lack of grass killed hundreds of thousands of sheep and goats. By the spring of 2000, more than 35 percent of the 2.1 million animals in Middle Gobi province had perished and less than one third of the expected 600,000 new animals were born.

More than 1.5 million animals died nationwide. The animals were already weak from an early winter, which began in September rather the usual November or December. The worst hit areas were Dundgov, Bayankhonher, Atkhangai and Vorkhangai. Relief was sought for a half million families. Damage from the snow was exacerbated by loss the loss of distribution channels, by which nomads sold their animals.

Impact of Dzuds

Different types of Dzud: White Dzuds, Cold Dzuds, Black Dzuds, Hooves Dzud, each with their own extreme conditions and harsh weather affects, [Source: Sustainable Fibre Alliance (SFA)]

According to World Bank: “Dzud is the Mongolian term for a winter weather disaster in which deep snow, severe cold, or other conditions render forage unavailable or inaccessible and lead to high livestock mortality. Dzud is a regular occurrence in Mongolia, and plays an important role in regulating livestock populations. However, dzud, especially when combined with other environmental or socio-economic stresses and changes, can have a significant impact on household well-being as well as local and national economies. Mongolia has experienced documented changes in climate in the past 60 years, and extreme events such as dzud may potentially increase in frequency and magnitude with future atmospheric changes.” [Source: World Bank, November 6, 2012]

Dzuds have forced many herders into poverty. Some had to give up herding and move to the cities. This happened to many inexperienced herder who left the cities to take up herding. Among the worst hit were Mongolians that took p herding when the collectives were abolished in 1996. Some herders took their animals to other pastures and caused over grazing there.

Andrew Jacobs, wrote in the New York Times, “The last serious zuds, three consecutive harsh winters between 1999 and 2002, sent thousands of destitute nomads streaming into the capital, Ulan Bator. A decade later, their tattered yurts still crowd bleak neighborhoods on the city’s fringe as the former herders struggle to fit into the modern world. The United Nations estimates that the current disaster may prompt as many as 20,000 herders to abandon their nomadic life and flee to the city. “A lot of the herders have no skills so they usually end up breaking the law and falling into poverty,” said Buyanbadrakh, the governor of a small administrative district, known as a soum” [Source: Andrew Jacobs, New York Times, May 19, 2010 ]

According to the World Bank: The 1999-2002 dzud was an important catalyst for a number of donor-led efforts to improve pasture and livestock management and risk preparedness using community-based approaches.” Aid was provided by the United Nations and about 80 different groups in 2000 and 2002. One relief worker told the Los Angeles Times, “Instead of being workers, the [herders] become beggars. Wiser people would say it is better to provide them with livestock than food, so they can make their own living.”

Some foreign aid groups have called the dzuds excuses to seek foreign aid and the loss of livestock was not necessarily a bad thing for the environment. They pointed to that fact that even though millions of animals have died in the dzuds the number of animals in Mongolia has increased from about 18 million in 1989 to about 30 million in 2005. That is not to say some relief should be offered after dzuds but rather that the relief should only be offered to herders directly affected by the dzuds not all herders.

Slow and Deadly Dzud of 2016

from the WWF

A severe dzud affected Mongolia during the winter of 2015–2016 and continued into the spring of 2016. A dzud is a natural disaster in which drought conditions during the summer are followed by an exceptionally cold and snowy winter, leaving livestock unable to find sufficient pasture or survive extreme temperatures. The phenomenon is unique to Mongolia and poses a recurring threat to the country's pastoral economy. [Source: BBC, May 14, 2016]

During the winter, temperatures in some areas fell to as low as -50°C (-58°F), while heavy snowfall covered large portions of the country. Snow and ice prevented animals from reaching grass, and many livestock entered the winter already weakened by poor grazing conditions during the previous summer. Large areas of Mongolia experienced severe forage shortages as a result.

By the spring of 2016, more than one million animals had died, and losses continued to increase as winter conditions persisted. Aid agencies estimated that more than 255,000 people were affected by the disaster. Livestock deaths were expected to continue until new grass emerged later in the spring.

The 2015–2016 dzud followed a pattern seen in earlier disasters, including the devastating dzud of 2009–2010, which killed approximately eight million animals. The event highlighted the vulnerability of Mongolia's livestock sector to climatic extremes and demonstrated the continuing impact of drought, harsh winters, and environmental degradation on rural communities.

Impact of the 2016 Dzud on Herders

The dzud had severe economic and social consequences for Mongolia's herding population. Livestock provide meat, milk, fuel, hides, and income for many rural families, making them the foundation of household livelihoods. As animals died in large numbers, many herders faced the loss of their primary source of food and income.

In some of the worst-affected areas, herders lost a majority of their animals. Families often spent significant amounts of money on hay and feed in an effort to keep their livestock alive, sometimes selling personal possessions or taking on debt. Even with these measures, many animals succumbed to starvation, cold, or exhaustion.

The disaster also affected livestock markets. Anticipating heavy winter losses, many herders attempted to sell animals before conditions worsened. The resulting oversupply caused livestock prices to fall sharply, reducing household income and making it more difficult for herders to repay loans or purchase additional feed.

For families who lost most or all of their animals, recovery was difficult. Many were forced to consider moving to provincial centers or to Ulaanbaatar in search of alternative sources of income. Such migration often created additional challenges because many herders lacked the education, training, or employment opportunities needed to adapt to urban life.

Prelude to the Dzud in 2016

Conditions leading to the 2015–2016 dzud developed during the preceding summer. Much of Mongolia experienced drought, which reduced grass growth across the country's extensive pasturelands. The drought also damaged agricultural production, including significant portions of the wheat crop, leaving both livestock and rural communities vulnerable before winter began. [Source: Reuters]

As winter approached, temperatures dropped sharply and snowfall increased across much of the country. By early 2016, approximately 80 percent of Mongolia was covered by snow. Thick snow and ice limited access to pasture and made travel difficult for nomadic herders, many of whom live far from towns and transportation networks.

International organizations and aid agencies warned that the situation was becoming increasingly serious. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies reported that weather and grazing conditions were already worse than those observed at the same stage of some previous dzud events. Officials noted that the most severe impacts of a dzud often occur during the late winter and spring months, when livestock are weakest and remaining feed supplies are depleted.

Even before large-scale livestock deaths occurred, economic pressures were becoming evident. Herders attempted to sell animals before conditions deteriorated further, causing market prices to decline. Humanitarian agencies warned that although livestock mortality had not yet reached the levels recorded during the 2009–2010 disaster, the effects on household livelihoods could be equally severe because of declining incomes, growing debt, and the loss of productive assets.

Dzud of 2009-2010

Mongolia experienced a devastating dzud in 2009-2010 that killed 9.7 million of the country's livestock, according to the National Emergency Agency of Mongolia. According to the World Bank: In the winter of 2009-2010 Mongolia experienced the most severe dzud since the consecutive dzud winters of 1999-2002. In the 2009-2010 dzud, about 8.5 million livestock had died, approximately 20 percent of the country’s livestock population, affecting 769,000 people or 28 percent of Mongolia’s human population. According to the Red Cross, 220,000 herding households were affected of which 44,000 households lost all of their livestock and 164,000 lost more than half their herd. [Source: World Bank, November 6, 2012]

According to Save the Children: A sharp and sudden temperature drop since late December 2009 combined with continuous heavy snowfalls has led to the current emergency situation in Mongolia. Higher-than-normal animal death rates have been reported and many more are at risk before the spring arrives and the snow melts in April and May. Up to 90 percent of the country has been covered with snow at depths ranging from 20cm to 90cm, and 198 of Mongolia's 331 soums have been battered by this harsh weather. Temperatures in the most severely affected regions have consistently dropped to between -30 and -40 degrees. For example, in Uliastai the lowest temperatures dropped to below -30 degrees during 19 of the 28 days in February

Andrew Jacobs, wrote in the New York Times, “Mongolia and its 800,000 herders are reeling from the worst winter that anyone can remember. According to United Nations relief officials, nearly eight million cows, yaks, camels, horses, goats and sheep died, about 17 percent of the country’s livestock. Even if the spring rains arrive soon, 500,000 more animals are expected to succumb in the coming weeks. “This is not only a catastrophe for the herders but for the entire Mongolian economy,” said Akbar Usmani, the resident representative for the United Nations Development Program. “We expect the ripple effects for months and years to come.”“ [Source: Andrew Jacobs, New York Times, May 19, 2010 ]

Reporting from Mongolia in the middle of winter,Arshad Sayed of the World Bank wrote: “Mongolia is currently experiencing a white "dzud" – a multiple natural disaster consisting of a summer drought resulting in inadequate pasture and production of hay, followed by very heavy winter snow, winds and lower-than-normal temperatures. Dzuds occur when the winter conditions – particularity heavy snow cover – prevent livestock from accessing pasture or from receiving adequate hay and fodder. [Source: Arshad Sayed, World Bank, January 31, 2010]

“Since early January, there has been heavy and continuous snowfall, blizzards and a sharp fall in daily temperatures – dropping below minus 40 degrees Celsius – in 19 out of Mongolia’s 21 aimags (provinces). This disaster has already caused the loss of approximately three percent of the country’s roughly 44 million livestock and many more losses are expected, given the feeble condition of many animals. Around 35 percent of Mongolia's work force is dependent on herding for a substantial part of their livelihoods and about 63 percent of rural household's assets are livestock; livestock herding accounts for about a third of employment in Mongolia. Food security is also worsening, poverty levels are likely to rise and these factors may cause an increase in rural-to-urban migration. Compounding the problem is the poor condition of many pastures as a result of last year’s drought and overgrazing. In addition heavy snowfall started earlier than usual in October 2009.

“Some herders have lost 50-70 percent of their livestock. While they are monitoring the situation closely, the emergency commission is yet to declare the situation a national disaster, because it appears that the losses so far are localized. Some areas are so thickly covered with snow that they are inaccessible by all types of vehicles, while other areas appear to be less affected and remain accessible. If severe cold weather persists and there is more heavy snowfall, this situation could very well become a national disaster.”

Areas Badly Hit by the Dzud of 2009-2010

Arshad Sayed of the World Bank wrote: ““We visited two of the hardest hit provinces in central west Mongolia, Arkhangai and Uvurkhangai – which have suffered 24 and 14 percent respectively of the national livestock losses... Herders were trying to cope with the dire situation in different ways. Some families had decided to make one of their "gers" into an animal shelter and huddle together in the other. Some were trying to burn dung to keep the shelter warm – with little effect. Some were in a state of shock. One woman almost broke down, saying she didn't know what she would do if the family's one remaining milk cow died.” [Source: Arshad Sayed, World Bank, January 31, 2010]

“Seven casualties have been reported as a result of the bad weather and two herders froze to death looking for their animals. In the worst-affected areas, carcasses lay strewn around. In shelters, sheep are stuck together from the previous night, trying to rush out of the pen in hunger perhaps and even some horses have fallen. One family was very worried about the possibility of their only remaining horse dying; without their horse – still the main form of transportation for many rural families – how would they be able to get basic necessities?

“So far, the government's response at the national level has been swift. At the county and village levels, however, the response is complicated by the dispersed rural population, large distances and because some villages are completely cut off from county centers by snow. Getting medical supplies, fodder, hay and basic foodstuffs to the herders are the immediate challenges. Emerging shortages of fuel, fodder, hay and transportation vehicles are likely to worsen the situation. Providing medical services, particularly to pregnant women and children, is a continuing challenge. During spring, safely disposing of carcasses and preventing outbreaks of disease will take center stage.”

Springtime During the Dzud of 2009-2010: a Harvest of Carcasses

Reporting from South Hangay Province, Mongolia, Andrew Jacobs, wrote in the New York Times, “They call it the zud, a prolonged period of heavy snows and paralyzing cold that adds to the challenges of living on a treeless expanse nearly the size of Alaska. But this year’s zud followed a punishing summer drought that stunted the grass and left Munkhbat Lkhagvasuren’s herds emaciated and his family in debt after borrowing money for fodder. [Source: Andrew Jacobs, New York Times, May 19, 2010 +]

“As the snow piled waist high this winter and temperatures plunged to 40 below zero, Mr. Lkhagvasuren crammed two dozen of the weakest goats and sheep into his yurt. The unlucky ones, more than 1,000 animals, froze to death in a great heap outside his front door. “I tried everything but could not fight against nature,” he said tearfully in a recent interview, the stench of rotting flesh overpowering despite a devilish wind. “I am broken and lost.” +

“For the moment, the government is focused on clearing the millions of dead animals that litter the grasslands and are beginning to decompose now that spring has finally arrived. A work-for-cash program, financed with a $1.5 million grant from the United Nations, pays herders to gather the carcasses and bury them in pits. It is grim work, but those lucky enough to get a spot on the crews are happy for the income. +

“At best, the money will only delay a looming crisis among families who have run out of food and are saddled with bank loans they took on to buy emergency feed. Mr. Lkhagvasuren, 34, the herder who lost 1,000 animals, said he owed over $1,800, a huge sum given that the average Mongolian earns $3,200 a year. He said he lost most of his most prized animals — horses, cows and about 200 yaks — and that it would take at least a decade to replenish his herd of goats and sheep, about 100 of which survived. As he sat in his yurt drinking salty milk tea and smoking tobacco rolled in a strip of newsprint, a crew dragged off the carcasses and heaved them into rickety trucks. “I can’t bear to watch,” he said.” +

NGO Response to the Dzud of 2009-2010

Relief Web reported: “Fifteen of Mongolia’s 21 provinces - home to 769,106 people, or 28 per cent of the country’s population - were declared disaster zones, and another four were seriously affected. An overall lack of resources prompted the Mongolian Government to appeal for assistance from the international community (the United Nations’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), July 6, 2010) and, as a result, in February 2010 the United Nations CERF allocated $3.7 million to the humanitarian country team in Mongolia. (OCHA, 26 Feb 2010). [Source: Relief Web]

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) also allocated 100,000 Swiss Francs (CHF) from the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund in January 2010, and launched an Emergency Appeal for CHF 1,062,295 on 29 March 2010 to assist 1,800 of the most severely affected herder families in Bayankhongor, Dundgobi, Khentii, Khovd, Sukhbaatar, Tuv, Umnugobi and Uvs provinces. By October 2010, this emergency appeal was successfully completed, with target funding fully covered. (IFRC, 28 Feb 2011). [Ibid]

Reporting on his fact-finding mission to dzud-hit aeas, Arshad Sayed of the World Bank wrote: “Traveling was difficult and our vehicles got stuck in the snow several times. Halfway, we had to leave our vehicle behind and join the Minister's convoy as our car could not make it through the heavy snow. Standing outside in these temperatures even for 10 minutes makes the body numb. It’s hard to feel your hands and toes. This makes us all wonder how the herders and their families cope when they are out herding – every day. [Source: Arshad Sayed, World Bank, January 31, 2010 ]

“The emerging disaster highlights the medium-term need to put in place a more sustainable pasture and livestock management system. This is the focus of ongoing assistance from the World Bank and other external partners. The World Bank is now trying to identify and mobilize resources to help the Government of Mongolia address the emerging disaster.

We have met partners, including the United Nations. From the Bank side, we are taking immediate action: 1) exploring opportunities to tap into the World Bank's global disaster response fund; 2) working within the Bank-financed Sustainable Livelihoods Program to provide support under the pasture risk management and community initiatives funds, components of the project; and 3) using the Index Based Livestock Insurance project which covers some 5,600 herders in the country, including in affected areas, to provide some relief to those insured.

“Our teams are also working closely with key decision makers and counterparts over the next weeks and months. The aim is to support an appropriate response to short-term needs and continue to deepen medium-term initiatives that reduce herder vulnerability. This can be achieved by improving pasture management and winter preparedness, the transfer and mitigation of risks from a dzud and strengthening the post-disaster response system.”

Dzud of 2009-2010 Focuses Attention on Overgrazing and Too Many Animals

Andrew Jacobs, wrote in the New York Times, “Buyanbadrakh, the governor of a small administrative district, known as a soum, said 70 percent of the livestock in his soum, Zuunbayan-ulaan, were wiped out this year with at least 2,800 families losing their entire herds. With so many desperate nomads selling off their remaining animals to survive, the price of meat has dropped by half in recent months. “People are taking it very hard,” he said. “Some have gone crazy.” [Source: Andrew Jacobs, New York Times, May 19, 2010 +]

“The disaster poses a challenge to a government already struggling to address the needs of the third of the population that lives in poverty. But it also raises a host of thorny questions about climate change, environmental degradation and whether the pastoral way of life that sustains many of the country’s 3 million people has a future. Mongolians are fiercely proud of their millenniums-old nomadic ways... Although mining and tourism are a growing portion of the Mongolian economy, a third of the population still depends entirely on husbandry for its livelihood. “The key question we have to ask is whether this way of life is sustainable,” said Mr. Usmani of the United Nations. “It’s a very sensitive issue.” +

“Despite the severe winter, one of the more sensitive long-term issues, oddly, is how to curb the explosive growth in livestock, which has quadrupled to 40 million head since the 1990 revolution that ushered in democracy and ended a socialist system that tightly controlled the size of the nation’s herds to prevent overgrazing. Environmentalists and government officials agree that the two decades of unbridled privatization and a boom in cashmere exports upended the traditional mix of livestock, which had long favored sheep over goats. +

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: Library of Congress, CIA World Factbook, Encyclopedia.com, National Geographic, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, U.S. government Live Science, The Conversation, The New Yorker, Time, BBC, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Google AI, Wikipedia, The Guardian and various websites, books and other publications.

Last updated June 2026