At least 70 people have died since the temperature began to fall on January 10th, according to local authorities.
The coldest temperatures have been measured in the central province of Ghowr, where record 32 degrees below zero were recorded this weekend.
"The winter is by far the coldest in recent years," says Mohammad Nasim Muradi, head of the country's meteorological authority, adding that the cold snap is expected to last for at least another week.
In the countryside, homeless families struggle to keep warm. Roads have been blocked by snow masses and some 70,000 cattle β a vital commodity in the poorer parts of Afghan society β have died.
Since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in 2021, the war-torn country has ended up on the brink of a humanitarian disaster. More than half of the country's 38 million inhabitants are threatened by famine this winter, according to aid organizations. Up to four million children are estimated to suffer from malnutrition.