The total death toll is still unknown. However, the Afghanistan National Disasters Management Authority (ANDMA) put the number of victims at over 300, with children, the elderly and women most vulnerable mainly from respiratory diseases.
In the Kunduz province a 28 year-old woman sold one of her children for $10 to buy medicines for her other children, who were suffering from pneumonia, local TV reported.
On Sunday people in the northern Jowzjan province, where temperatures have plunged to a record -30 degrees Centigrade (-22 Fahrenheit), protested outside the provincial authority building demanding emergency assistance over rising food prices.
The capital Kabul, also hit by sub-zero temperatures, is likely to face power cuts as electricity plants fail to cope with the growing demand.
The cold snap also reached the country's south, which has seen snowfall for the first time in 20 years.
