According to provincial authorities in Balkh and Takhar, unusually harsh weather conditions have taken the lives of some 50 people in these provinces in the past week alone. Adding to the misery, food shortages have also seen malnutrition on the rise.
Residents of Afghanistan's northern provinces, stricken with hunger and cold, have apparently even taken to attempting to sell their children to buy bread and coal. At least six cases have been reported in the Baghlan province this month alone. Aid workers have also reported being attacked by starving Afghan mountain dwellers.
The UN Office of Coordination of Human Affairs said almost 200,000 livestock had also died since unusually cold weather hit the country at the start of January.
