In Mongolia, a killer winter is ravaging herds and a way of life

That's the worst... where I live, the temperature tends to get just above zero after snowstorms, just enough to make the snow wet and more compact, and then when it freezes over again it's basically a piece of ice which takes ages to melt later. I suppose that with the weather previously being more stable, it wouldn't do that often in Mongolia? But now that it both snows more and the temperature varies more widely, this is a recipe for disaster. Hope they find ways to adapt with the help of modern tools, but of course it's easier said than done, specially when they probably don't have any money to invest in things that could help and even if they could, the infrastructure just doesn't exist.

" This concerns mostly East Mongolia, and it can be a good thing for the nature, even though it is disastrous for many shepherds/herders. It's now more than 3x as many livestock animals in the country compared to when communism fell in 1990. Over-grassing kills the steppes and makes the desert spread in record speed. So if half of the livestock animal population would die, it would be, as said, good for the nature, but crap for the shepherds/herders.

If you want to see the official animal statistics check out http://1212.mn/en "

It was a disaster for herders. Then in the spring we had a huge outbreak of hoof and mouth.

What is happening right now is tragic- but I suspect that herders will find a way to endure. They are incredibly resilient people.