At least 166 people have lost their lives due to a wave of extreme cold that has covered Afghanistan for 20 days, an official from the Ministry of Disaster Management said on Saturday.
According to Abdul Rahman Zahid, 88 more people have died in a week, bringing the total death toll at this stage to 166 based on data from 24 of the 34 provinces of this poverty-stricken country.
He explained in a video that these deaths were caused by floods, fires or leaks on gas heaters used to heat homes.
The thermometer has dropped to -33 degrees Celsius in some Afghan regions since January 10.
These extreme temperatures are sometimes accompanied by snowfall and freezing rain while power cuts occur frequently.
Humanitarian aid organizations had warned ahead of this cold snap that more than half of the 38 million inhabitants were on the verge of starvation and that nearly 4 million children were suffering from malnutrition.
A hundred houses were destroyed or damaged and almost 80,000 head of cattle – a crucial resource in this extremely poor country – perished due to the cold.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said this week that seventeen people had died in a village in Badakhshan province (northeast) of an “acute respiratory infection”.
“Difficult weather conditions prevented relief from reaching the area,” the WHO said.
Humanitarian aid was sharply reduced after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan more than two years ago, following the withdrawal of American troops.
The Taliban government in December banned Afghan women from working for humanitarian organizations, forcing many to suspend operations.
Thanks to the exemption subsequently introduced for the health sector, some NGOs were able to resume their activities.