More than 910,000 livestock nationwide had frozen to death by Tuesday as a severe cold wave continued ravaging 19 of Mongolia's 21 provinces, the state emergency commission said Thursday.

Around 90 percent of the country's territory is covered with snow, due to strong blizzards. Livestock in the worst-hit western area were running out of food and many had died of cold, hunger or illness.

The Mongolian government will spend more than 5 billion tugrik (about US$3.5 million) to buy forage and medicines from neighboring China and Russia.

Temperatures are forecast to continue to dive to between minus 43 and 48 centigrade this weekend in several provinces, including Ubsu.

(Xinhua News Agency January 22, 2010)