Heavy snow and bitterly cold weather have caused scores of deaths and major disruption in parts of Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia and Pakistan. Some areas have seen snow for the first time in years, with people struggling to keep warm in sub-zero temperatures amid power shortages. In Iran, heavy snow over recent days has seen eight people frozen to death after being trapped in their cars. Tens of thousands of other motorists were rescued from their vehicles. Some desert areas in Iran reported snowfalls for the first time in living memory. But other countries in the region have been suffering similar problems.

Avalanche
Central Asian nations have reported unusually cold temperatures.

In Kyrgyzstan, a government agency said 50 homeless people froze to death over the first four days of the new year.

In Tajikistan, people are struggling to keep warm in daytime temperatures as low as -10C, at a time when cutbacks in energy exports from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan mean electricity supplies have been reduced to a total of about four hours a day.

Heavy snow has also caused casualties in Afghanistan. Five people were killed in an avalanche in the western province of Ghor, and in neighbouring Herat eight members of the same family died after their roof collapsed under heavy snow. In many provinces, including Ghor, and Badakhshan in the north-east, a large number of districts have been cut off from their provincial capitals. And the authorities are still trying to clear major roads in many parts of the country. Snow has also caused disruption and casualties across the border in north-western Pakistan, with seven soldiers reported killed in an avalanche.

_{Bron: BBC}

Een koudegolf met hevige sneeuwval heeft in het westen van Afghanistan al aan meer dan 80 mensen het leven gekost. Volgens cijfers van de overheid stierven in de afgelopen dagen alleen al in de provincie Herat 52 mensen door onderkoeling en lawines.

"We hebben reddingsploegen naar de getroffen regio's gestuurd en vrezen dat het aantal slachtoffers nog zal stijgen", zei een woordvoerster van de gouverneur van Herat, Farzana Ahmadi, zondag.

Ook internationale hulporganisaties zijn onderweg naar de moeilijk toegankelijke berggebieden aan de grens met Iran. Uit de aanpalende provincies Ghor en Farah werden tot nog toe twaalf doden gemeld. In de zuidelijke provincie Uruzgan stierven volgens officiële cijfers minstens 20 mensen door het barre weer.

_©HLN | Gewijzigd: 14 augustus 2017, 15:13 uur, door Joyce.s

Aid workers say cold weather and heavy snow have killed more than 100 people and more than 35,000 head of cattle in the past week across Afghanistan. They say several major roads have been blocked by avalanches and hundreds of people have been affected by bad weather. The government and foreign aid groups have been holding meetings to find ways to send food and other supplies to those affected by severe cold and snow and for better coordination of aid delivery. The umbrella body for foreign and local aid groups, ACBAR, said 24 of the 34 provinces have been affected and at least three of them, in the central region, were totally inaccessible today. "We have report of 118 deaths and destruction of some houses (in the past week). It is snowing and we are concerned about more deaths," said Saleem Bahramand, an official at ACBAR. The International Committee of the Red Cross says it has sent food supplies for 106 families in the western province of Herat, near the border with Iran. Afghan officials say more snow is forecast in several parts of the mountainous country.

Refugees deported
Meanwhile, the Afghan government has voiced concern over the expulsion of Afghan refugees living in Iran, urging its neighbour to halt the deportations due to cold weather and its lack of resources to look after them. The foreign ministry says it has summoned the top Iranian diplomat in Kabul to express "serious concerns about forced and mass repatriation of Afghan refugees during the freezing months of winter." Nearly 9,000 Afghans in Iran have been illegally deported in the past two weeks, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). It was the second time in just over two months that Afghanistan has summoned the Iranian representative on the issue. The two countries have signed an agreement that the return of registered Afghan refugees from Iran must be voluntary and conducted in a safe and dignified way, but the deal does not cover unregistered Afghans. Iranian authorities this month warned Afghans without documents that they faced arrest and detention for up to five years if they did not leave.

Since 2002, around four million Afghans have returned to their country after fleeing during years of war and drought. It is one of the world's biggest repatriation drives. There are still two million registered Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

_{Bron: ABC}

Afghanistan.

Veel landgenoten wonen en werken momenteel in Afghanistan. Ze hebben niet alleen een gevaarlijke missie, maar worden ook geconfronteerd met ander weer dan het Nederlandse. In elk land is een gemiddeld klimaat aan te geven. Zo ligt Nederland aan zee en heeft daardoor een zeeklimaat. Dit betekent: vrij veel regen en wind, koele zomers en zachte winters.

Afghanistan daarentegen ligt als een van de weinige landen niet aan zee. Omringd door zes landen met de langste grenzen bij Pakistan en Iran heeft het een landklimaat. Zo?n klimaat gaat gepaard met hete droge zomers en erg koude winters. Het klimaat van Afghanistan is niet zo eenvoudig te classificeren omdat het een groot land is (15 keer zo groot als Nederland) en enorme verschillen in reliëf kent.

Het Hindu-Kush gebergte in het oosten heeft toppen van bijna 8 km en ten westen van Kabul reiken de bergen tot 5 km. In het noorden is het land juist vrij vlak en in het zuidwesten ook. Deze hoogteverschillen geven aanleiding tot grote verschillen in weer en klimaat.

In de lijst hieronder is te zien dat gemiddeld de winternachten in Kabul kouder zijn dan in Amsterdam en de maxima in de zomer hoger. Dit zijn gemiddelden over een periode van 30 jaar. De werkelijkheid kan echter heel anders zijn. Zo is het in Amsterdam vandaag 12 graden met een stevige zuidwester, terwijl het kwik in Kabul bij weinig wind waarschijnlijk niet boven het vriespunt komt.

_{©Weathernews}

Ongewoon koude winter in Midden-Oosten


_{Een idyllisch sneeuwtapijt in de buurt van de Jordaanse hoofdstad Amman}

Regen in Caïro, sneeuw in Amman, Damascus en Bagdad. Volgens meteorologen heeft het Midden-Oosten te kampen met de ergste kou sinds de winter van 1964. Het ongebruikelijke weer zou te wijten zijn aan een hogedrukgebied in Noord-Europa.

Sneeuwballen in Amman

Kinderen in de Jordaanse hoofdstad maakten van de zeldzame gelegenheid gebruik om sneeuwballen te gooien, maar automobilisten die in Amman vast kwamen te staan door de verkeerschaos die de sneeuwval teweegbracht, waren minder gelukkig. Op de internationale luchthaven van Amman maakte de machine waarmee vliegtuigen van ijs worden ontdaan overuren.


_{Sneeuwpret in Damascus}

Ahmadinejad in de problemen

In Iran brengt de hevige kou president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in de problemen. Meer dan zestig mensen zijn reeds door de kou omgekomen en de Iraanse geestelijk leider ayatollah Ali Khamenei vernederde de president zondag openlijk door hem op de staatsradio op te dragen afgelegen dorpen van aardgas te voorzien om huizen te verwarmen. Het parlement heeft daartoe een wet aangenomen, maar om budgettaire redenen heeft Ahmadinejad tot nog toe afgezien van implementatie. Iran heeft op Rusland na de grootste aardgasvoorraad ter wereld.

Regen in Caïro

Koude regen zorgde er in het normaal kurkdroge Caïro voor dat straten onder water liepen. De huizen in de Egyptische hoofdstad zijn vooral gebouwd op gloeiend hete zomers, en tegen het huidige koudefront bieden ze onvoldoende bescherming. Inwoners van Caïro hebben hun winterkleding uit de mottenballen gehaald, maar velen lopen nog met sandalen over de natte en modderige straten.


<sub>Sneeuw ruimen in Abyaneh, 300 kilometer ten zuiden van Teheran

©De Morgen</sub>

Zware sneeuwval in Midden-Oosten

Een sneeuwstorm heeft woensdag een deel van het Midden-Oosten in het wit gehuld. Verschillende snelwegen zijn geblokkeerd en scholen zijn gesloten. Kinderen in Jeruzalem spelen in de sneeuw op straat.

De opwinding over de zeldzame sneeuwval is groot. Even geeft de pers in Israël meer aandacht aan de sneeuw dan aan de moeilijkheden van premier Ehud Olmert, vanwege een rapport over de oorlog met Libanon in 2006. Het rapport concludeert overigens dat Olmert weinig te verwijten valt. Ook in delen van Jordanië en in Ramallah op de Westelijke Jordaanoever kwam het leven tot stilstand; op straat verschenen sneeuwpoppen.

Hoewel er een of twee keer sneeuw per jaar valt in Jeruzalem, blijft het zelden liggen. Nu lag er een pak sneeuw in de stad en werd ook de Rotskoepel even helemaal wit. De Israëlische meteorologische dienst mat 20 centimeter sneeuw tot nog toe. Woensdagmiddag kwam er wel regen bij, en veranderde de sneeuw in een natte pap, maar de temperatuur zou weer gaan dalen en de sneeuwbuien kunnen nog tot donderdag aanhouden.



Ook op de Golan-hoogvlakte, in Noord-Israël en op de Westoever werd zware sneeuw gemeld. Toen Ramallah ontwaakte, zagen sommigen voor het eerst in hun leven sneeuw. ,,De witte sneeuw bedekt de oude wereld en ik voel me alsof ik in een nieuwe, schone en witte wereld ben beland", zei Bothaina Smairi, die buiten foto's stond te maken.



In Jordanië dezelfde mooie taferelen, maar de hoofdstad Amman ondervond ook veel hinder. Straten en wegen in en naar de stad zijn onbegaanbaar, en de politie adviseert iedereen om in huis te blijven en niet de bevroren wegen te betreden.



In Libanon hebben storm en regen gezorgd voor veel ongemak. Wegen zijn afgesneden en de toch al wankele elektriciteitsvoorziening kampte met nog grotere problemen.



_{©De Pers}

Snowfall shuts down Jerusalem

JERUSALEM (AP) -- A heavy overnight snowstorm blanketed Jerusalem and other parts of the Holy Land in white on Wednesday, closing schools and stores and grounding public transportation.


The sense of excitement among Israelis, used to warm Middle Eastern weather, was palpable.

Children threw snowballs on slushy streets, and weather reports topped local newscasts, eclipsing an upcoming government report on the 2006 war in Lebanon that could pressure Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to resign.

Snow often falls in Jerusalem once or twice each winter, but temperatures rarely drop low enough for it to stick.

The city is not designed to deal with snowy weather. Schools shut, most public places closed down and many people stayed home from work.

_{Bron: CNN} | Gewijzigd: 31 januari 2008, 11:44 uur, door Marga

Jammu, February 8: While seven persons have been reported trapped in the snow avalanche in Ramban district, another 11 persons-hunters, have gone missing in the snow avalanche in Doda district of Jammu region.

Meanwhile, a pregnant woman, who was in labour in the snow avalanche-hit Ramban district of Jammu region, was on Friday airlifted in a chopper to Jammu.

She was admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital, Jammu for treatment.

Official sources revealed that at least seven persons were reported trapped in the snow-avalanche in the upper reaches of the Ramsoo area of Ramban district in Jammu region.

However, no rescue operation has been taken upon far in the area, as the choppers can not be operated at the moment because of the heavy snowfalls, witnessed by the area.

Sources also pointed out that at least 11 hunters were reported missing in Sariki village of Bhaderwah area in Doda district of Jammu region.

Official sources revealed that the 11 missing people in Sariki of Bhaderwah were local hunters and they had gone for the hunt on the 6th of February.

However, the hunters have not been traced out so far and they were reported missing for the past three days, official sources pointed out.

Divisional Commissioner, Jammu Sudhanshu Pandey said that ‘both the districts of Jammu region-Doda and Ramban, have witnessed heavy avalanche and it is still continuously snowing in these parts. Since even the choppers can not be operated right now, no rescue operation is possible’.

However, he added that one pregnant woman, who was in labour, in Maitra area of Ramban district was on Friday morning airlifted in a chopper and shifted to the Government Medical College Hospital, Jammu.

_{Bron: Express India}

Twenty killed in Kashmir snowfall

At least 20 people have been killed and 10 are missing after heavy snowfall in Indian-administered Kashmir, police in the state say. The road link between the valley of Kashmir and the rest of India has also been cut for the last five days. Avalanches triggered by the heavy snow hit several homes. Police and the army have rescued more than 30 people in a village south of the summer capital, Srinagar, where eight houses were hit by an avalanche.


_{Major roads in Indian-administered Kashmir have been blocked}

Evacuated
The dead include two entire families, each comprising six members. The authorities have evacuated several villages as more avalanches are feared after an improvement in the weather. The sun shone in the valley briefly on Friday afternoon. The 300km highway linking Srinagar with the winter capital, Jammu, has been closed for the past five days.

Thousands of lorries and buses are stranded on the road, which is the only surface link between the valley of Kashmir and the rest of India. However, the authorities say there are enough stocks of essential commodities in the valley.

_©BBC

Harsh winter kills more than 750 in Afghanistan

KABUL (Reuters) - More than 750 people have perished as a result of severe cold and heavy snowfalls this winter across Afghanistan, a government official said on Saturday. The cold spell, the worst in decades in the impoverished and mountainous central Asian country, has also killed nearly 230,000 cattle, said Noor Padshah Kohistani of the National Disaster Management Commission.

"Across the country, 763 people have died since the start of the winter due to cold weather and severe snowfalls," he told Reuters. The snowfalls have destroyed more than 500 houses and damaged more than 40,000, a disaster commission statement said.

The worst affected areas were the western provinces of Herat and Badghis where some people had to have amputations because of frostbite, according to the state media. Several families sold their children recently because they were unable to care for or feed them, media reports said. Many key roads linking districts with provincial capitals have been blocked because of snow, hindering deliveries of supplies. The deaths of cattle are regarded as a huge loss for Afghanistan, an agricultural country that largely relies on foreign aid. In the face of a harsh winter that has pushed food prices to record highs, the United Nations World Food Program last month appealed for extra food assistance for 2.55 million Afghans until the next harvest in June.

_{Bron: Reuters}