The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN Habitat) warned this week that 21 million people in Afghanistan are currently facing a serious water crisis and that the country needs major investments in water infrastructure.

Stephanie Loose, the head of the programme, said in a report that major Afghan cities such as Kabul, Kandahar and Herat are also facing a serious shortage of clean drinking water and that groundwater resources in these cities are decreasing significantly. 

However, last week, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Afghanistan reported that an estimated 33 million people in the country face severe water shortage. 

Marking World Water Day on March 22, the ICRC quoted a Kabul resident Shafiqullah Hamkar of District 5 in Kabul city as saying: “Our borewells have completely dried up because of the minimal snowfall and rainfall over the last few years. 

“The sharp decline in groundwater levels has left us no choice but to rely on commercial water tankers for our most basic needs. It is a big challenge for us in the city,” he said. 

ICRC said Hamkar represents an estimated 80% of Afghans who are dealing with the severe impact of erratic rainfall patterns, rising temperatures and droughts. 

The situation is even worse in rural areas where people often rely on untreated surface water, which leads to the spread of waterborne diseases such as cholera and diarrhea.

“For millions of Afghans, who are already struggling with many challenges and facing a dire humanitarian situation, vital activities such as getting water to drink or cook and providing irrigation for crops are often impossible. This has a devastating impact on people’s health and access to food, and hampers the country’s potential for economic development,” says Martin De Boer, the head of programs for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Afghanistan. 

He added that the lack of required infrastructure – including water-supply systems, dams and irrigation networks – further exacerbates the challenges. Responding to the needs of the people, the ICRC plays an important role in supporting communities and assisting authorities to improve and manage water supplies.

More than half a million people in Afghanistan were displaced due to climate disasters in 2024, the International Organization for Migration said in a country report published on Tuesday.

“Nearly 9 million individuals were impacted by climate hazards in the last 12 months, with over 500,000 displaced by floods, drought, and other disasters,” IOM said, AFP reported.

“Roughly three in five of those displaced relocated elsewhere within their province of origin”, with the western Herat and Farah provinces among the hardest hit, it said.

This week, 39 people were killed due to floods, hail and storms in southwestern Afghanistan, mainly in Farah, according to local authorities.

Afghanistan is among the poorest countries in the world after decades of war and is ranked the sixth most vulnerable to climate change, which is spurring extreme weather.

Drought, floods, land degradation and declining agricultural productivity are key threats, according to the United Nations.

Flash floods last May killed hundreds and swamped swaths of agricultural land in Afghanistan, where 80 percent of people depend on farming to survive.

“Over 11 million people in Afghanistan are at high risk of severe impacts from climate-induced disasters in the future,” the IOM said.

The UN agency estimates that “climate-sensitive livelihoods, like subsistence farming, make up 73 percent of jobs in Afghanistan”.

It added that “92 percent of villages have limited access to emergency services” and “96 percent lack resources for crucial measures like early warning systems and search and rescue.”

Officials from the disaster management departments of Farah and Kandahar report that floods in these two provinces have resulted in 29 fatalities and nine injuries.

Mohammad Israel Sayar, the head of disaster management in Farah, confirmed to Ariana News that 21 people lost their lives and six others were injured due to floods on Tuesday in the Qala-e-Kah district of the province.

According to Sayar, the victims had gone to the mountains of Qala-e-Kah for recreation purposes when floodwaters suddenly swept them away.

Officials from the disaster management department in Kandahar also stated that floods in the province have caused 11 deaths and injuries.

They reported that in the seventh district of the province, one woman and three children died when the roof of a house collapsed.

They added that in the fifth security district of the province, three women and one child lost their lives due to the floods. Two children and one man were also injured.