More than 150 people have already died in Afghanistan as a result of the cold snap. As the Ministry of Disaster Management in Kabul announced today, the death toll has risen to at least 166 since the cold snap began more than two weeks ago. In addition, around 100 homes were destroyed or damaged. Nearly 80,000 animals also died in the cold, an important source of food and income for many Afghans.
Temperatures in Afghanistan have dropped to minus 33 degrees since January 10th. There are also heavy snowfalls, ice storms and power outages. According to Afghan meteorologists, this winter is “by far the coldest in years”.
Afghanistan is isolated internationally because of its radical Islamic Taliban government. Even before the cold wave, the country was already experiencing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. More than half of its 38 million inhabitants do not have a secure food supply, three million children are at risk of malnutrition.