For the first time, a capital threatens to go out the water in modern times

For the first time, a capital threatens to go out the water in modern times

When the sun rises over Kabul's poor mountains, the daily search for a family for water begins - and how it can use it for as long as possible. The 42-year-old mother of four children forces the noise of water tankers that roll through Raheela's district in the Afghan capital to quickly rush to the street to fill the bold bucket and canister of her family. According to Raheela, their water consumption is always scarce, and every liter costs a lot of money, which brings the nerves and the family's budget to the border.

The terrifying water crisis in Kabul

"We have no access to (drinking) water at all," Raheela told CNN. "Water shortage is a big problem that affects our daily life." Kabul controls according to a current Report by Mercy Corps for a disaster. It could soon be the first modern capital of the world that dries out completely. This could lead to an economic collapse, the experts warn.

causes of the water shortage

growth rates of the population, the climate crisis and incessant overuse have the groundwater level Depleted, and almost half of the city fountains are already dry. Raheela's family has to pay water for every drop and make sure how to use it. Eating rations and other vital things are often sacrificed to ensure drinking water and hygiene.

"We are very concerned," she continued. "We hope for more rain, but if the situation gets worse, I don't know how to survive," she added. It is an emergency that is "not just a water problem," warned Marianna of Zahn, program manager of Mercy Corps in Afghanistan. "It is a health crisis, an economic crisis and a humanitarian emergency in one."

population growth and management error

Just three decades ago, Kabul had fewer than 2 million inhabitants, but after the fall of the Taliban in 2001 there was an influx of migrants that were attracted to promised security and economic possibilities. With the growth of the population, the demand for water also increased.

Kabul is almost entirely dependent on groundwater, which is filled up by snow melting of the nearby Hindu-Kush mountains. But years of mismanagement and overuse have led to the water levels have dropped by up to 30 meters in the past ten years, according to Mercy Corps. Kabul now takes 44 million cubic meters more groundwater annually than nature can replace, which leads to a worrying imbalance that exhausts the residents' reserves and finances.

Living life -saving solutions

Some families, like those of Ahmad Yasin, have dug deeper wells to find more water. Yasin, 28, lives with nine others in a common household in the north of the city. For months he waited with his brother for hours at the nearby mosque, which had access to a large fountain to bring full buckets home. "That took the time for our work and had a negative impact on our income," he said.

To raise a money of 40,000 Afghanis (approx. $ 550) for their own well in the garden, they saved for six months and did without food. After digging 120 meters, they finally found water, which, however, cannot be drinked. "It's not safe," said Yasin. "After we have spent all our money on the well, we cannot afford to buy a water filter or cleaned water. So we cook the fountain water for a long time, let it cool down and then drink it."

health risks and childhood experiences

up to 80 % of the Kabul groundwater are contaminated, according to Mercy Corps, which is due to widespread use of latrines and industrial waste pollution. Diarrhea and vomiting are "everyday problems for people in the city," said Sayed Hamed, 36, who lives with his wife, three children and two older parents in northwestern Taimani district. "We often get sick because we drink contaminated water, be it at home, in the restaurant or even brushing your teeth with well water," said the government agent.

The effects of climate change

The crisis is further tightened by Kabul's susceptibility to climate change. "We are getting more and more rain, but less and less snow," said Najibullah Sadid, a researcher in the field of water resource management. "This affects a city that has less infrastructure to deal with the sudden floods ... In the past, the snow helped us, now we have less, and that damages us with regard to the groundwater regeneration."

If the current trends continue, Unicef predicts that Kabul could no longer have a groundwater by 2030.

water made of tanker

Those who do not have the means of digging hundreds of meters to water are dependent on private companies or have to hope for donations. Rustam Khan Taraki spends up to 30 % of his income for water, mainly when buying licensed tank providers. Families who cannot afford this often have to cover long distances to mosques that can provide water.

At dawn you can see Hamed as he stands on a nearby fountain for hours to fill two buckets for his family. During the day, two of his children - 13 and 9 years old - stand for a filling, and sometimes they skip the school to carry heavy buckets up the steep hill in the brooding sun. This crisis has an impact on the future of children, said of Mercy Corps Zahn. "The hours that children should normally spend at school instead spend water for their families."

The role of women in the water crisis

women wear a large part of this crisis - forced to go through Kabul for hours to get the little water that they can find while they suffer from the oppressive rule of the Taliban that prohibits them without going outside, i.e. a male guardian. "It is not easy for a woman to go outside, especially under the current circumstances where a woman needs male accompaniment of her family to go out," said a 22-year-old resident Kabul, who did not want to give her name for security reasons.

political uncertainties and a worrying future

The deeper political unrest in Kabul additionally strengthens the water crisis. After the Taliban was taken over in August 2021, which followed the chaotic withdrawal of the US-led forces, the country came to the edge of an economic collapse. Development and security support for the country was frozen.

Although humanitarian aid, which is aimed at non-profit organizations and dealing with the government's control, was filled part of the gaps, but the decision of US President Donald Trump to stop foreign help has further thrown back. "What we experience is a dangerous mix: collapsing local systems, frozen means and increasing regional tensions - while the normal Afghans are confronted with a stricter crisis every day," said von Zahn.

This leaves the future of many people in Kabul uncertain. Raheela still remembers when she and her family moved to her current quarter. The rents were cheaper, the mosque had water and life was still bearable. Now she doesn't know how long you can survive in the city. "We will have no choice but to be sold again," she said. "Where will we go from here? I don't know."