ULAN BATOR, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Overnight temperatures dropped to a bone-chilling minus 42 degrees Celsius in Otgon soum, an administrative subdivision of Zavkhan province in western Mongolia, from Thursday to Friday, according to the country's weather monitoring agency.
This marks the coldest temperature recorded in Mongolia so far this winter, the National Agency for Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring announced in a statement on Friday.
The agency has forecasted that most parts of Mongolia will experience colder-than-average temperatures throughout the winter.
Mongolia is known for its harsh winters, heavily influenced by the Siberian high-pressure system.
Last winter, nearly all 21 provinces of the country endured extreme wintry conditions, known locally as "dzud," accompanied by record snowfall, the largest since 1975. Around 90 percent of the country's territory was covered in snow up to 100 centimeters thick, leading to the death of approximately 8 million livestock.
"Dzud" is a Mongolian term describing a severe winter during which large numbers of livestock perish due to frozen or snow-covered grazing lands. ■
