The Taliban-led government in Afghanistan has confirmed that at least 157 people have been killed across the country due to the freezing weather.
The country is suffering one of its coldest winters, with temperatures plummeting to as low as minus 28 degrees Celsius (minus 18 Fahrenheit) in early January – far below the nationwide average of between 0 and 5 degrees Celsius for this time of year.
While confirming the fatalities, a spokesman for the State Ministry for Disaster Management said that about 70,000 livestock had also perished in what has been deemed as the coldest winter in a decade, reports the BBC.
Acting Minister of Disaster Management Mullah Mohammad Abbas Akhund told the BBC that many areas of Afghanistan were now completely cut off by snow; military helicopters had been sent to the rescue, but they couldn’t land in the most mountainous regions.