A Zud or dzud is a Mongolian term for the extreme conditions which exist after a hot, dry summer is followed by a cold winter; it can include dust storms as well as blizzards. There is a distinction between white and black zuds, where the white zuds include heavy snowfall and black zuds indicate the lack of snow, through which the plants and food for animals would have been proteced.
The ground can become frozen so hard that animals cannot graze and
water cannot be easily extracted. Although Mongolia is a country with a
continental climate and low precipitation, occasionally freak and extreme snowfalls can cause herd animals to drown in the snow.
Global climate change is exacerbating the problem making it increasingly more difficult for Mongolians to continue with their semi-nomadic herding lifestyle, and is precipitating a growing migration from the steppes to the capital Ulaanbaatar.
Based on the Wikipedia Article, edited by Mongolia Web News
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