The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) has recently issued a warning about the water shortage crisis in Kabul, stating that Afghanistan’s capital is facing an unprecedented water crisis.
In a post shared today (Thursday, 26 Saratan) on its official X account, the program stated that water levels in Kabul have significantly dropped, putting six million people at risk.
UN-Habitat emphasized: “Addressing this crisis requires large-scale investment, strong cooperation, and increased public awareness about water use and management.”
It further stated: “Water is life. Let’s act now.”
It is worth mentioning that experts have warned about the decline in Kabul’s groundwater levels and say the Afghan capital could become the first city to completely run out of water.
According to a report published recently by the non-governmental organization Mercy Corps, the level of underground water in Kabul has dropped by up to 30 meters over the past decade due to rapid urbanization and the climate crisis.
The report states that current water extraction exceeds the natural groundwater recharge by 44 million cubic meters annually.
Additionally, UNAMA had earlier warned that if this trend continues, all of Kabul’s underground water sources could dry up by early 2030, putting millions of the city’s residents at risk.
