AFGHANISTAN'S CLIMATE CHANGE EXACERBATING POVERTY AS HUMANITARIAN CRISIS LOOMS

By Chandrayee Roy Choudhury, Canada: 

Fed by rain and snowmelt from mountains, this valley nestled among northwestern Afghanistan’s jagged peaks was once fertile. But the climate has changed in the last few decades, locals say, leaving the earth barren and its people struggling to survive.

Many have fled, heading to neighboring Iran or living in abject poverty in camps for the displaced within Afghanistan as repeated droughts parch the land and shrivel pastures

The severe drought, now in its second year, has dramatically worsened the already desperate situation in the country. Battered by four decades of war, Afghans have also had to contend with the coronavirus pandemic and an economy in freefall following the freezing of international funding after the Taliban seized power in mid-August amid a chaotic withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops. Millions can’t feed themselves, and aid groups warn of rising malnutrition and a humanitarian catastrophe.

Severe drought has affected more than 60 per cent of the country’s provinces,but there is no single province not affected since some are facing serious or moderate drought.



If urgent measures are not taken, there will be a catastrophic humanitarian situation It is arguably the worst humanitarian crisis in the world at the moment, and the saddest part is that early action and prompt action could have prevented it from escalating.