KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – More than 8.8 million children in Afghanistan, or 41% of the country’s estimated 21 million children, are exposed to at least three overlapping climate hazards, a new UNICEF report has found.
The Children’s Climate Risk Report 2026, launched on Tuesday, shows Afghanistan has the highest child vulnerability to climate change in South Asia. Children face a combination of floods, droughts, heatwaves, extreme heat, and sand and dust storms.
According to the report, more than 75% of children are exposed to drought conditions, over 50% face longer and more frequent heatwaves, and more than 1.7 million are at risk from river flooding.
“Children in Afghanistan are already living on the frontlines of the climate crisis,” said Dr. Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan. “What makes this especially dangerous is that climate hazards are overlapping with high child vulnerability.”
The report highlights that widespread nutrition vulnerabilities compound the risks. Afghanistan already has high levels of acute malnutrition, with millions of children expected to require treatment this year. Gaps in essential services — including health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), education, child protection and social protection — leave children less able to cope with, adapt to, or recover from climate shocks.
Oyewale stressed the need for urgent action. “For Afghanistan, the message is clear: protecting children from the climate crisis requires sustained investments in services that keep them healthy, nourished, safe, protected, and learning,” he said.
Afghanistan is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change despite contributing only a small share of global greenhouse gas emissions. The country has experienced repeated droughts, flash floods and other extreme weather events in recent years, affecting livelihoods, damaging infrastructure and increasing humanitarian needs.
The Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021 has left the country largely isolated from international climate discussions. Combined with international sanctions and political isolation, this has restricted access to resources and support needed to build resilience against escalating climate threats.
UNICEF called for immediate funding to strengthen climate-resilient services that can protect children before, during, and after climate-related shocks.
