UNICEF Report Finds More Than 8.8 Million Children in Afghanistan Face Climate Hazards

UNICEF's Children's Climate Risk Index 2026 report states that 41 percent of Afghanistan's approximately 21 million children, or more than 8.8 million, face at least three simultaneous climate hazards including drought, floods, heatwaves and dust storms.

The country registers the highest level of child vulnerability to climate hazards in South Asia, driven by gaps in essential services. More than 1.7 million children are at risk of riverine flooding, while additional exposure data show more than 75 percent of children affected by drought and more than 50 percent by prolonged severe heat waves.

These hazards are worsening acute malnutrition, with millions of children under five requiring treatment. They also disrupt health, nutrition, water, education and protection services critical to children's survival and development.

Tajuddin Oywale, UNICEF representative in Afghanistan, said children live on the front lines of the climate crisis. The report calls for urgent international investment to strengthen climate-resilient health, nutrition, water, education and social services.