Afghanistan 10-yr drought intensifying, France 24 Eng Oct 9 report w transcript at Heating Planet blog

It's been 10 years of drought now in Afghanistan, forcing tens of thousands of families across the country to abandon their land and seek opportunities elsewhere. Villages have been abandoned. Once magnificent vineyards are now dried up and infested. “Before the drought, we could produce just enough to live. But for 2 years, everything has been lost.” Farmers are deeply worried as the drought is intensifying each year in Afghanistan. "Acute food insecurity"

WATCH: Afghanistan hit by worst drought in 30 years- FRANCE 24 English Oct 9, 2025 report, transcript below:

As the sixth most vulnerable country to climate change globally, Afghanistan's drought poses a direct threat to farming and food security. More than 80 percent of Afghans depend on agriculture for their livelihood. FRANCE 24's Oriane Zerah and Shahzaib Wahlah report.

Transcripts here for readers writers and researchers

TRANSCRIPT:

[Music] 0:08 Hat is among the provinces hit hardest 0:11 by a prolonged drought in Afghanistan 0:13 this year. The province received just 90 0:16 mm of rain, two times less than the 0:18 rainfall recorded in some other parts of 0:20 the country. 0:22 Oh my god, look, everything is dry. We 0:24 used to grow very nice watermelons here, 0:26 but after the drought, we could not 0:27 continue. 0:30 Kul Muhammad is desperate. Despite his 0:32 best efforts, he struggles to grow 0:34 anything in his field. 0:37 It's been 10 years of drought now and 0:39 nothing is cultivated. Look at the land. 0:42 We have no water at all. 0:45 In recent years, villages across the 0:47 province have been abandoned. Kul 0:49 Muhammad is managing as best as he can. 0:53 I have three hectares of land and I can 0:55 only cultivate a third of it. We do not 0:58 even have enough water to irrigate this. 1:00 Most of the land is completely dried 1:02 out. It's because of the lack of water. 1:05 If I could irrigate all this land, I 1:07 could feed 10 members of my family. With 1:10 only one hector, what can I do? 1:16 100 kilometers north of Kabul, the land 1:19 has dried up. Naja a widow relies on 1:22 small field by her house to feed her 1:24 children but little grows anymore. 1:29 Perhwan prevents his entire need of 1:31 water as rain has drastically decreased 1:34 over the last 5 years. 1:39 Before the drought, we could produce 1:41 just enough to live. But for 2 years, 1:43 everything has been lost. We had to cut 1:45 the branches off the fruit trees to save 1:47 them because they were dying. 1:50 If we had rain, it would nourish fields. 1:52 But if there's no rain, then the drought 1:54 will continue. 2:02 Bwan is famous for its grapes and 2:04 farmers are deeply worried as the 2:06 drought intensifies. For 5 years, the 2:09 rains have been irregular and scarse, 2:12 devastating crops for growers like 2:14 Baralai. 2:16 He continues to tend his vines which are 2:18 slowly withering away. 2:22 Before these were magnificent vineyards, 2:24 but now everything has dried up and 2:26 infested. It's useless. I can't sell 2:28 them because of the drought. 2:32 Even the irrigation canals have dried 2:34 up. It is impossible to dig wells as the 2:36 ground level has dropped immensely and 2:38 the cost would be too high for this 2:40 small farmer. 2:42 There used to be a stream here, but now 2:45 it's dry. So now the only source of 2:47 water is rain water. The water that 2:50 flows here is just dirty water. 2:58 Before when prices and the harvests were 3:00 good, I earned 30,000 rupees a month 3:03 compared to 5,000 to 10,000 rupees. Now 3:06 we have water during the winter but it 3:07 disappears during the summer. This makes 3:09 grape cultivation difficult and the 3:11 situation is becoming dire. Farmers from 3:14 here are very worried. 3:22 The drought has forced tens of thousands 3:24 of families across the country to 3:26 abandon their land and seek 3:27 opportunities elsewhere. This is the 3:30 case for Abdul Basir Khalili who has 3:32 lost all hope that his land will yield a 3:34 profit. 3:38 Last year I planted wheat here but it 3:40 burned. 3:42 This year I want to plant vegetables but 3:44 I don't know if we will have enough 3:46 water or not. Because of the drought 3:48 there is no work here. So I was forced 3:50 to go to Kabul to look for work. 3:58 Abdul travels an hour from his village 4:00 to the capital every day. Even here the 4:03 job market is entire straits. 4:06 Approximately 85% of Afghans live on 4:08 less than a dollar a day. 4:16 This is what I do. I help people with my 4:18 cart, but I can't see myself continuing 4:21 this work. 4:24 I feel like I don't belong here. I could 4:26 happily work in my field, but because of 4:29 the drought, I'm forced to come here to 4:31 feed my children. 4:33 Drought is intensifying each year in 4:35 Afghanistan, deepening an already severe 4:38 humanitarian crisis. More than 12 4:40 million people in the country are 4:42 currently suffering from acute food 4:44 insecurity. 

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FRANCE 24 English

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KE: I think this relates to the post I put up earlier this morning.

Defense crisis: Climate change now viewed through new, more urgent lens: national security, Mike Knows channel video w transcript- Heating Planet

UK intelligence issued a serious warning that the climate crisis poses a significant and growing threat to the nation's security. The report highlights risks like disruption to global food supplies, mass migration driven by environmental disasters, and https://cityofangels25.blogspot.com/2025/10/defense-crisis-climate-change-now.html