Kabul faces looming water collapse as aquifers dry and aid remains stalled
Groundwater in Kabul has dropped dramatically, threatening a near-total supply failure by 2030, while humanitarian funding stays frozen.
According to Prosper Global, Kabul's aquifers have fallen 25-30 metres in the past decade, with annual extraction exceeding recharge by about 44 million cubic metres. Roughly 90% of residents depend on borewells that deliver just 20 litres per person per day, far below the 80-litre benchmark, and many pay up to 30% of their income for water. Contamination affects up to 80% of the groundwater, while drought and shrinking snowmelt have reduced river inflows.
The United Nations estimates that a collapse could displace half of the city’s six-million people. Funding for water, sanitation and hygiene projects has been largely frozen since the Taliban took power, leaving schools and clinics without reliable water and delaying major dam and pipeline projects.
Why it matters
Kabul's water crisis threatens mass displacement, health hazards and regional instability if not addressed.
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