Kabul faces severe water shortage as wells are dug to a depth of 150 meters

On September 30, Afghan media reported that as people fleeing violence and looking for work flocked to the center of Kabul, the area now accommodates more than 4.6 million people. The increase in population pressure and drought has led to a shortage of water in Kabul, so people have to dig deeper wells to get water.

You have to dig 150 meters to find water

Local residents are forced to dig 10 to 20 meters, which is beyond the depth of the previous wells. However, overuse of wells and drought have caused the groundwater level to drop, making it even more difficult for local residents, especially the poor, to find water.

Local officials say the number of wells in Kabul has increased dramatically, but the government has done little to manage them. People have to dig 150 meters or more to get clean water, and the cost is too high for many people to afford.

Kabul is facing a serious water crisis, with the mayor of the Afghan capital warning that groundwater could dry up within 10 years. According to statistics, only about 40% of Afghans have access to safe drinking water. Analysts say that decades of conflict, climate change, and poor water management are the reasons for the crisis.

Analyzing Water Shortage from the Geography and Climate of Afghanistan

Afghanistan is a landlocked country located in central Asia. It is mostly mountainous and has little land. The Hindu Kush Mountains stretch from northeast to southwest. Similar to the climate and geomorphology of Xinjiang in my country, Afghanistan has many wastelands and deserts in its southwest. Except for the northeast, the climate is arid and semi-arid. Water shortage has always existed in Afghanistan, so countries around the world are no strangers to Afghanistan's water shortage.

According to relevant data, the annual rainfall in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, is only 362 mm. Some years are even lower. In 2001, the city recorded only 175 mm of rainfall. The water shortage has led to a serious imbalance in the region's groundwater resources. In the past, wells with a depth of 5 to 10 meters had water, but now the wells are getting deeper and deeper, with the deepest well as low as 150 meters below the ground.

Kabul is also a microcosm of Afghanistan's current water shortage. However, there are a large number of oases in the eastern and northern regions of Afghanistan, which are sufficient to meet the production and life of local people.

We can see from satellite maps that the northeastern region of Afghanistan is still full of green, with large tracts of farmland in the north along the Amu Darya River. The mountainous area in the northeast near Pakistan is Afghanistan's forest area, where a large number of mixed broad-leaved forests grow, and it is the main source of Afghan timber.

There are many irrigated farmlands on both sides of the Helmand River in the southern Helmand Province. There are also large agricultural oases around the city of Charikar in Parwan Province in central Afghanistan. Cities are scattered on these oases. From the terrain of Afghanistan, we can see that the Wakhan Corridor in the east is part of the Pamir Plateau and is dotted with a large number of glaciers.

If we can make good use of this part of water resources, build reservoirs in the mountains, intercept the snow melt water in summer, and then transport the water resources to the water-deficient western region through pipelines and artificial rivers. Because the eastern region of Afghanistan is at a higher altitude, the water can flow to the eastern region by gravity, and there is no need for artificial water lifting. If this project can be realized, Afghanistan will be able to solve the water problem of most of the population.

Conclusion

Therefore, we need to save water in our daily life. Although our country has a relatively complete infrastructure and does not have such difficulties in drinking water, we must cherish it. Cherish water resources, starting with you and me!