QUETTA, PAKISTAN – Kabul woke on early Thursday to its first snowfall of the year, as a soft white blanket covered the city’s rugged streets and rooftops.
The snowfall quickly took over social media, with residents sharing photos and videos to celebrate the occasion.
While the sight briefly transformed the capital into a scene of beauty, it also underscored the grim challenges its residents continue to face.
For children, the snowfall brought moments of joy, as they built snowmen and played. For adults, however, the snow served as a somber reminder of Kabul’s worsening crises, particularly the acute water shortage.
The snow covered Kabul’s arid hills, which once relied on consistent snowmelt to replenish water supplies. Now, reservoirs and wells yield insufficient amounts, forcing many families to depend on unreliable water deliveries or ration what little they have.
Over the years, unregulated drilling of deep wells has exacerbated the depletion of groundwater, leaving the city teetering on the edge of a full-blown water crisis.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that Kabul’s groundwater could be fully depleted by 2030, driven by rapid urbanization and the worsening impacts of climate change.
Afghanistan ranks as the sixth most vulnerable country to climate-related threats, according to the Global Climate Risk Index, further emphasizing the urgency of sustainable water solutions.
Compounding these issues is the country’s deepening humanitarian crisis, with a record 29.2 million people—more than two-thirds of the population—in urgent need of humanitarian aid. As temperatures plummet, families without access to heating struggle to endure bitterly cold nights in poorly insulated homes.
Zarmina, a mother of four, described her daily struggles as she wrapped her children in worn blankets. “The snow is beautiful, but we have no firewood to stay warm. Our children are hungry, and there’s no water to drink or cook with,” she said.
Local aid organizations have stepped up efforts to distribute food and heating supplies, but the scale of the crisis continues to outpace resources. As snowflakes fell on Thursday, some residents lined up at distribution centers, hoping for a ration of flour or oil. Others stayed indoors, wary of venturing out in the cold.
