By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi Ron Synovitz November 16, 2021 When Qudratullah lost his family’s farm in northern Afghanistan earlier this year, it was not because of war. It was due to a severe drought — one of the extreme weather conditions in Afghanistan that is blamed on global climate change. The displaced 58-year-old once supported an
Al Jazeera: As the world watched the Taliban wage a stunning offensive that ended in the rapid collapse of the country’s western-backed government, a longer-term crisis was building. In desperate attempts to feed their families, herders have been forced to sell their livestock, farmers to flee their villages, and parents marrying their daughters at ever
Ariana: Afghanistan, India and Pakistan were among 11 countries singled out by U.S. intelligence agencies on Thursday as being “highly vulnerable” in terms of their ability to prepare for and respond to environmental and societal crises caused by climate change. Click here to read more (external link).
Ariana: At least 149 species of animal are in danger of disappearing from Afghanistan, Afghan officials said Saturday. According to the officials, war, climate change, animal-trafficking, and illegal hunting are the main cause of loss of wildlife in the country. Click here to read more (external link).
Reuters: Large-scale deforestation driven mainly by four decades of war has contributed to widespread flooding throughout Afghanistan, prompting many in rural areas to move to the capital Kabul or leave the country. Click here to read more (external link). Related Charikar flood survivors mourn dead as Afghanistan grows increasingly vulnerable to climate change
Phys.org: After bearing the brunt of jihadist dynamite and looting by thieves, the archaeological treasures of Afghanistan’s Bamiyan province are facing a new and possibly more daunting threat: climate change. Afghan officials warned in a 2016 United Nations report that the structures “may collapse and suffer from severe erosion”due to conditions directly linked to climate change. The Global
Al Jazeera: Years of war and fighting have had a devastating effect on forests. Many were destroyed, and Afghan authorities caught up in fighting did not see the disappearing forests as a priority. Meanwhile, by 2013, at least half of Afghanistan’s forests had disappeared. Timber trade has become a profitable business. In the eastern provinces, local people and armed
IRIN: Afghanistan is one of the world’s top eight countries affected by climate change-induced water shortages, says Paulos Workneh, who heads the water, sanitation and hygiene programme for UNICEF in Afghanistan. As groundwater deteriorates, city dwellers are robbed of their main source of clean water. Click here to read more (external link).
Ariana: Afghanistan’s Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah on Wednesday warned that climate change will take a serious toll on Afghanistan by 2050. “Afghanistan will experience an increase of approximately 1.5 degrees Celsius in mean temperature and a doubling of population by 2050,” Abdullah said in his address to delegates. Click here to read more (external link).
AFP: After two winters without snow, Kabul residents are anxiously scouring the hills for the first flakes, wary that the depletion of this major source of water further fuels instability in war-ravaged Afghanistan. Historically speaking, a snowless year is highly unusual for this ancient capital, built 1,500 metres (5,000 feet) above sea-level in the foothills of