Over 70,000 hectares of land destroyed in wildfires in Mongolia so far this year

ULAN BATOR: Twenty-nine forest and steppe fires have been reported across Mongolia since the beginning of this year, destroying 70,172 hectares of forest and grassland, the country’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said Tuesday.

People’s negligence was the leading cause of the wildfires, the NEMA said, urging the public not to light open fires or throw cigarette butts on the ground amid the current windy and dry conditions of spring.

Mongolia has a harsh continental climate, and its weather is usually dry and windy during spring.

-Xinhua