KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Nearly nine million people in Afghanistan have been affected by climate-related disasters such as droughts and floods over the past year, according to the German aid group Help – Help for Self Help.
In a statement on Thursday, the organization warned that the severe impacts of the climate crisis are pushing 19 provinces – over half the country – to the brink of humanitarian collapse.
Western Afghanistan has been hit particularly hard. The region, where Help has been active for nearly two decades, is experiencing worsening food insecurity and heavy crop losses.
“A third of the population is already affected by hunger, and half the population needs humanitarian assistance,” said Shafi Shirzad, Help’s country director. “The drought in 2025 caused massive crop losses. Wheat yields alone have fallen by up to 60 percent.”
Shirzad added that forecasts for the coming winter point to another drought, which could devastate the next growing season. “More and more families will be forced to leave their villages due to climate conditions,” he said.
To ease the suffering, Help, in coordination with Germany’s Federal Foreign Office, is providing cash assistance, hygiene supplies, and climate-resilient seeds to vulnerable families in western Afghanistan. The organization stressed, however, that the current level of aid is insufficient to meet the scale of the crisis. It called for urgent and increased international support to prevent further suffering.
Despite contributing only 0.08% of global greenhouse gas emissions, Afghanistan is one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations. The country is facing one of its worst droughts in decades, worsening food and water shortages amid deepening humanitarian needs.
The humanitarian situation has deteriorated further since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. Over half of the population now relies on international assistance for basic needs, including food, water, and medical care. Declining global aid and funding shortfalls have made it increasingly difficult for humanitarian agencies to deliver life-saving support to those in urgent need.
