166 people killed as cold wave sweeps Afghanistan, temperatures drop to -33 degrees Celsius (UPDATE)

Al Jazeera
Wed, 18 Jan 2023 19:20 UTC

© Omer Abrar/AFP

Children carry containers to fetch drinking water along a road during a cold winter day in the Yaftali Sufla district of Badakhshan province in Afghanistan on January 18, 2023

At least 70 people and tens of thousands of cattle have died due to freezing temperatures across Afghanistan, the country's Ministry of Disaster Management confirmed with Al Jazeera as Afghans reel from a spell of cold weather amid a humanitarian crisis.

The ministry said on Wednesday that 70 people and 70,000 cattle have died in the past week.

For the last two weeks, many provinces in Afghanistan have been witnessing exceptionally cold weather, with the central region of Ghor recording the lowest reading of -33C (-27F) over the weekend.

© Al Jazeera

"This winter is by far the coldest in recent years," said Mohammad Nasim Muradi, the head of Afghanistan's meteorology office.

"We expect the cold wave to continue for another week or more," Muradi added.

© Omer Abrar/AFP

People play volleyball during a cold winter day in the Yaftali Sufla district of Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province.

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid offered his "deepest condolences to the relatives and families" of the victims.

"We are saddened to hear that a number of our citizens have lost their lives due to severe cold in some provinces," Mujahid wrote on Twitter.

He added that "relevant agencies and officials are instructed to help the affected families as much as possible and to use all their possibilities to prevent more casualties".

© Abdul Basit/AFP

Vehicles are seen stuck along a road during snowfall near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Chaman, Afghanistan on January 18, 2023.

Images and videos circulating on social media show roads blocked by heavy snowfall in several central and northern provinces.

It is Afghanistan's second winter under Taliban rule since United States-led forces withdrew from power in August 2021. The country is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis, with more than half of the population of 38 million facing food shortages. The western sanctions and the Taliban administration's international isolation have worsened the situation.

© Omer Abrar/AFP

A man and boy walk along a road during a cold winter day in the Yaftali Sufla district of Badakhshan province on January 18, 2023.

Last month, many NGOs still working in Afghanistan suspended their operations in protest over a Taliban government order banning women from working with humanitarian groups, except in the health sector. The Taliban has also banned girls from attending schools and universities.

On Tuesday, some aid agencies said they resumed operations after Taliban authorities assured that women will be allowed to work.

Comment: Update January 29

AFP reports:

Afghanistan's cold snap death toll rises to 166

One hundred and sixty-six people have died in a wave of bitterly cold weather sweeping Afghanistan, an official said on Saturday, as extreme conditions heaped misery on the poverty-stricken nation.

Afghanistan has been frozen by temperatures as low as -33 degrees Celsius since Jan 10, combined with widespread snowfall, icy gales and regular electricity outages.

Aid agencies had warned before the cold snap that more than half of Afghanistan's 38 million people were facing hunger, while nearly four million children were suffering from malnutrition.

The disaster management ministry said on Saturday the death toll had risen by 88 over the past week and now stood at 166, based on data from 24 of the nation's 34 provinces.

The deaths were caused by floods, fires and leaks from gas heaters that Afghan families use to heat their homes, ministry official Abdul Rahman Zahid said in a video statement. Some 100 homes were destroyed or damaged and nearly 80,000 livestock, a vital commodity for Afghanistan's poor, also died in the cold.