Freezing temperatures in Afghanistan that dipped as low as -34 Celsius -- the coldest recorded in 15 years -- have killed at least 70 people and 77,000 animals, according to officials on January 19, as the country's humanitarian crisis worsens.
'The Coldest In Recent Years': Dozens Killed By Cold Snap In Afghanistan
Updated
- By AFP
![Children at a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) shovel snow near their tents in the Nahr-e-Shahi district of Balkh Province, near Mazar-i-Sharif, on January 17. Kabul and several other provinces have seen record-low temperatures since January 10, with Ghor in the central region reaching the lowest reading of -33 Celsius (-27 Fahrenheit). ](https://gdb.rferl.org/08550000-0a00-0242-09c3-08daf954407b_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Children at a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) shovel snow near their tents in the Nahr-e-Shahi district of Balkh Province, near Mazar-i-Sharif, on January 17. Kabul and several other provinces have seen record-low temperatures since January 10, with Ghor in the central region reaching the lowest reading of -33 Celsius (-27 Fahrenheit).
![More than half of Afghanistan's 38 million people are facing hunger, and nearly 4 million children are suffering from malnutrition, according to aid agencies.](https://gdb.rferl.org/069c0000-0aff-0242-e6ed-08daf9521471_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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More than half of Afghanistan's 38 million people are facing hunger, and nearly 4 million children are suffering from malnutrition, according to aid agencies.
!["This winter is by far the coldest in recent years," Mohammad Nasim Muradi, the head of Afghanistan's meteorology office, told AFP. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/08550000-0a00-0242-11da-08daf9543937_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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"This winter is by far the coldest in recent years," Mohammad Nasim Muradi, the head of Afghanistan's meteorology office, told AFP.
!["We expect the cold wave to continue for another week or more," Muradi said. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/069c0000-0aff-0242-6e0d-08daf9521471_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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"We expect the cold wave to continue for another week or more," Muradi said.
![Afghan men warm themselves around a bonfire at a market in Mazar-i-Sharif on January 14.](https://gdb.rferl.org/069c0000-0aff-0242-e0f2-08daf95e2fe9_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Afghan men warm themselves around a bonfire at a market in Mazar-i-Sharif on January 14.
![Afghan girls collect firewood for their homes in the Kuz Kunar district of Nangarhar Province on January 16. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/08550000-0a00-0242-b877-08daf954394e_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Afghan girls collect firewood for their homes in the Kuz Kunar district of Nangarhar Province on January 16.
![These men received treatment for frostbite in Herat after being rescued while attempting to cross illegally into Iran.](https://gdb.rferl.org/08550000-0a00-0242-ace7-08daf954409a_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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These men received treatment for frostbite in Herat after being rescued while attempting to cross illegally into Iran.
![A view of the frozen Kokcha River in Fayzabad in Badakhshan Province ](https://gdb.rferl.org/08550000-0a00-0242-57f2-08daf954475e_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A view of the frozen Kokcha River in Fayzabad in Badakhshan Province