Over the past 12 months, more than half a million Afghan residents have been forcibly displaced due to natural disasters. Floods, droughts, and other climate events have destroyed thousands of homes and worsened the humanitarian crisis in the country, Avesta.tj reports.
According to a new report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) under the United Nations, around 9 million people have been affected by climate-related disasters over the past year. IOM experts note that in the past three years, climate factors have become the leading cause of displacement in Afghanistan, surpassing even armed conflicts in scale.
Between 2021 and 2024, around 3 million people were forced to leave their homes due to natural disasters. In the past year alone, 988,000 Afghans were temporarily relocated to other areas. Over the year, nearly 400,000 cases of damaged or completely destroyed homes were recorded, while the death toll and number of injured reached 14,000 people.
IOM warns that in the coming years, the consequences of climate change could affect over 11 million more people in Afghanistan. The highest risk remains in the Ghor, Khost, and Jawzjan provinces. The economic impact of the crisis is also alarming, as more than 70% of Afghanistan’s population depends on subsistence agriculture, and mass displacement threatens their livelihoods.
Additionally, the study reveals that 92% of small settlements in Afghanistan lack access to emergency services, while 46% of villages have no medical infrastructure. Most rural areas lack early warning systems and rescue services. IOM Mission Chief in Afghanistan, Myhyun Park, emphasized that despite minimal carbon emissions, Afghanistan ranks among the top 10 most climate-vulnerable countries.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
March 1, 2025