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UN highlights urgent need for climate action in vulnerable Kabul
UN-Habitat says four out of five Kabul residents live in informal housing areas. Estimates put Kabul population at over 4 million.
As climate pressures mount, Afghanistan’s capital Kabul — home to over 40% of the country’s urban population — is facing compounding urban crises, with the majority of its residents living in informal settlements that are highly vulnerable to extreme weather and water scarcity.
According to a recent post by UN-Habitat on social media platform X, four out of five Kabul residents live in informal housing areas. These densely populated neighborhoods lack basic infrastructure such as sewage systems, drainage, and secure housing, making them particularly exposed to flooding, landslides, and heatwaves driven by climate change.
“These communities are particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events, underscoring the urgent need for climate action,” UN-Habitat stated.
The warning comes amid growing concerns about Kabul’s rapidly depleting water resources.
Years of unregulated groundwater extraction, population growth, and prolonged droughts have left large parts of the city at risk of running dry.
Officials have acknowledged that without sustainable water management and urgent investment in infrastructure, the capital could face a severe water crisis in the near future.
Kabul’s water table has dropped dramatically over the past two decades. With limited access to piped water systems, many residents rely on private wells or water tankers, both of which are increasingly unreliable and unaffordable for lower-income families.
The Islamic Emirate government recently called for action on groundwater management. However, progress remains slow amid economic constraints, limited international funding, and the growing demands of a city whose population has more than doubled since 2001.
Urban planners and aid organizations warn that without coordinated climate adaptation strategies—including improved housing, water conservation efforts, and climate-resilient infrastructure—millions of Kabul’s residents could face worsening living conditions and displacement.
The situation highlights broader challenges facing Afghanistan, where decades of conflict, climate vulnerability, and underinvestment in public services have severely weakened the country’s capacity to adapt to a changing environment.
According to official United Nations data, Kabul’s population is estimated at 4.1 million as of mid‑2024, however, more recent urban-area estimates from UN World Urbanization Prospects put Kabul’s population around 4.877 million in 2025, reflecting ongoing growth and expansion into surrounding suburbs
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Iran offers fully funded virtual education for Afghan students returning from abroad
Nader Yarahmadi, head of the Center for Foreign Nationals and Refugees at Iran’s Ministry of Interior, said Tehran is ready to deliver online education to Afghan students inside Afghanistan
Iran has announced that it is prepared to provide fully funded virtual education for Afghan students returning from abroad, including complete support for digital learning tools and equipment.
Nader Yarahmadi, head of the Center for Foreign Nationals and Refugees at Iran’s Ministry of Interior, said Tehran is ready to deliver online education to Afghan students inside Afghanistan, adding that an international partner has expressed interest in helping finance the initiative.
According to Yarahmadi, more than 6.1 million Afghan nationals are legally residing in Iran, with only about 33,000 living in camps and the remainder settled in cities. He noted that until last year, Afghan students made up roughly 12% of Afghanistan’s residents in Iran and accounted for nearly 16% of Iran’s total student population. He said expanding school infrastructure and improving educational quality would help close existing gaps.
Iran’s Education Minister Alireza Kazemi highlighted the country’s experience with remote learning through the “Shad” platform during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We are ready to educate all Afghan students through our national education network under a tripartite cooperation agreement, granting them valid academic certificates within the virtual school framework,” he said.
Earlier meetings in Kabul between Iran’s Ambassador to Afghanistan, Alireza Bigdeli, Cultural Attaché Seyed Ruhollah Hosseini, and Islamic Emirate education officials underscored both sides’ interest in continuing cooperation in the education sector.
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India sends over 63,000 vaccine doses to boost Afghanistan’s public health system
New Delhi has reiterated that it remains committed to supporting the Afghan people through sustained humanitarian and medical assistance.
India has reinforced its support for Afghanistan’s public health sector with the delivery of a new batch of essential vaccines to Kabul.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi has supplied 63,734 doses of influenza and meningitis vaccines to Afghan health authorities as part of its ongoing humanitarian assistance program.
Afghan health officials noted that the vaccines will be integrated into national preventive healthcare efforts and will help curb seasonal illnesses while reducing the risk of meningitis outbreaks, especially during periods of heightened vulnerability.
They said the shipment arrives at a time when Afghanistan’s medical resources remain under significant strain.
India has served as a key health partner to Afghanistan in recent years, providing medical supplies, essential medicines, and several rounds of vaccines to help strengthen the country’s healthcare infrastructure.
New Delhi has reiterated that it remains committed to supporting the Afghan people through sustained humanitarian and medical assistance.
Abdul Rahman Munir, the Deputy Minister for Counter-Narcotics at the Ministry of Interior, traveled to Uzbekistan this afternoon along with his accompanying delegation.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Interior, the purpose of the trip is to participate in a meeting of member countries of the Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Centre for Combating Drugs (CARICC).
The statement added that the meeting will be held on December 5 of this year in the city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
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