Posted on 01/18/2008 10:54:54 AM PST by blam
Scores dead in Afghan cold snap
By Charles Haviland
BBC News, Kabul
Authorities have put out an alert to combat cold-related diseases
The number of people who have died due a cold snap in Afghanistan has risen to 200, government officials say. Four large provinces in the western part of the country have been especially badly hit. Tens of thousands of livestock have also perished.
Local people are saying the winter conditions have been the most severe in decades. The cold spell is also affecting neighbouring countries.
People seem to have been unprepared for the heavy snow and low temperatures.
Most of the 200 dead are herdsmen - but women and children have also died.
Alert
Much of the west is quite low-lying by Afghan standards and the International Committee of the Red Cross says many people only expect a day or two of snow each winter.
Tens of thousands of sheep, vital for local livelihoods, have also perished in the cold.
At the other end of the country, the north-east, people say recent snowfalls have been the heaviest for 20 years.
A local member of parliament has told the BBC that many villages in this rugged territory are completely cut off and in need of food and medicine.
In the capital, Kabul, where temperatures are dropping, dozens of families who have fled the violence in Helmand in the south, are camping in tents in the streets, dependent on charitable handouts of clothing and food.
The central government has put health workers on alert to combat respiratory diseases caused by the wintry weather around the country.
“GLOBAL WARMING!! GLOBAL WARMING!! WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE!!!”—2007 Nobel Prize Winner Al Goracle /s
Here’s hoping the Taliban and Al-Qaeda scum are freezing their butts off in some cold cave. Also, since we have driven them to very remote areas, they will be cut off from easy re-supply of food and fuel. Most excellent news!
Taliban frozen in their caves????
Bush’s Fault
Seems like the perfect time to pull out the infrared goggles and the heat sinking missiles.
Global warming!!! When will it END?!!!!!!!!
...wonder if Scooter here, (the reporter) will look around and count up the number of people who have not died because of coalition forces medical teams giving out medicines and other medical aid, along with food, rebuilding houses,schools,and other places of warmth?. Guess he has to follow the party line and send out the numbers skewed by the liberal left
Woman and children are property there, and only mentioned as a side note with the sheep.
It hit me when one of the Iraqis who has a shop on our base told me yesterday that his 6-month-old little girl was sick and they took her to the hospital.
He said the hospital had many sick babies and that it was because homes here are not really built or prepared for the below-freezing temperatures that have been hitting at night and the cold is making the babies ill.
I told my friend who owns the shop that I would pray for his little girl. He was touched and grateful. Most of them see Christian prayers as a good thing.
That is tragic. Prayers up.
forecast next few days for kabul:
Partly sunny and chillyLow: 2 °FHigh: 37 °FSaturday, Jan 19More Details Windy with partial sunshineLow: 10 °FHigh: 29 °FSunday, Jan 20More Details Brilliant sunshine, but coldLow: 2 °FHigh: 29 °FMonday, Jan 21More Details Partly sunny and coldLow: 4 °FHigh: 32 °FTuesday, Jan 22More Details Cold with clouds and sunLow: 5 °FHigh: 31 °FWednesday, Jan 23More Details Cold with clouds and sunLow: 6 °FHigh: 30 °FThursday, Jan 24More Details Increasing cloudsLow: 9 °FHigh: 34 °FFriday, Jan 25More Details Periods of clouds and sunshineLow: 14 °FHigh: 36 °FSaturday, Jan 26More Details Periods of clouds and sunshineLow: 14 °FHigh: 39 °FSunday, Jan 27More Details Abundant sunshineLow: 13 °FHigh: 38 °FMonday, Jan 28More Details Mostly sunnyLow: 11 °FHigh: 37 °FTuesday, Jan 29More Details Snow; rain mixing inLow: 18 °FHigh: 41 °FWednesday, Jan 30More Details Snow; rain mixing inLow: 11 °FHigh: 38 °F
anyone have the ability to go back to last years forecast for same time period
you can get a history here: http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=kabul+Afganistan
2003: 42 degF
2004: 37 degF
2005: 28 degF
2006: 16 degF
2007: 22 degF
2008: 17 degF
I think I see a pattern there...
Somebody needs to tell Al Gore that he turned the thermostat down too far, he was supposed to fix it not freeze it.
I sure wish global warming would hurry up and get here already.
I don’t think stiffs at ambient temp will show up in IR.
Maybe Allah is trying to tell the Talliban something.
Apparently the memo to move all temperature sensors to new urban heat areas is still in the 'To Do' stack.
They need electrical room heaters. I use a ceramic based one here in sunny Southern California.
I don't think they're easy to get here. I've seen a couple of rickety space heaters in offices and some Iraqis talk about kerosine heaters in their homes, but bitter cold is so unusual here that I think the market were probably unprepared.
~~Anthropogenic Global Warming ™ ping~~
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