Climate events affect 5m Afghans in first quarter of 2025

KABUL (Pajhwok): The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reports nearly five million people in Afghanistan were affected by climate-related events during the first quarter of 2025.

IOM released the findings from the second round of the Afghanistan Climate Vulnerability Assessment (ACVA), based on data gathered from 62,658 villages across all 34 provinces of the country.

According to the report, close to five million people—approximately 10 percent of the country’s population—were impacted by environmental hazards in the first three months of 2025. Additionally, 79 percent of internal displacements, affecting around 175,000 individuals, were caused by climate-related incidents.

IOM said these events forced nearly 396,000 people to leave their homes, with over 171,000 recorded as having migrated elsewhere.

The report also noted that 44 percent of communities had limited access to safe drinking water, while 39 percent lacked access to health services. Food insecurity emerged as the biggest challenge during this period, with 47 percent of respondents identifying it as their primary concern.

The organisation added that the absence of essential water infrastructure in more than 80 percent of areas had significantly increased vulnerability to climate-related disasters.

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