Kabul (Agencies)
The Afghan authorities announced yesterday that at least 70 people have died within a week due to the severe cold wave in the country, which is experiencing a serious humanitarian crisis. Kabul and many other provinces in the impoverished country have been experiencing lower temperatures since January 10. The state of “Ghor” in the center of the country recorded the lowest temperature, which reached 33 below zero, during the weekend of January 14 and 15.
“This winter is by far the coldest in recent years. We expect the cold wave to continue for another week or more,” said the director of meteorology in Afghanistan, Mohammad Nasim Moradi. According to the Ministry of Disaster Management, at least 70 people have died since the start of the cold snap, and some 70,000 head of livestock, on which many Afghans rely for their livelihood, have perished.
Scenes from rural areas showed homeless families gathering around a fire to keep warm, while the more fortunate in the snow-covered capital gathered around traditional charcoal stoves.
Heavy snowfall blocked roads in several states in central and northern Afghanistan, according to photos posted on social media.
The cold snap adds to many difficulties in a country already grappling with one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
More than half of the 38 million Afghans face acute food insecurity, and three million children are at risk of malnutrition.
