February 6, 2022 - Snow in Afghanistan
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Snow in Afghanistan
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An early and bitterly cold start to winter brought blizzard conditions
and avalanches to the high mountains of Afghanistan in early 2022. Snow
is not unusual in Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush mountains—glaciers are found
the high elevations—but massive dumps of snow and steeply falling
temperatures could not come at a worse time for those people who are
finding themselves short on food, fuel, and other life-sustaining
resources after an exceptionally turbulent year.
A January 4 report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs warned that a harsh winter was already fueling
an ongoing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, with heavy snow dumped
in the previous 24 hours causing disruption of flights which may carry
aid to the region. Several humanitarian organizations—working carefully
to stay within legal limits—have been bringing food, blankets, and
heating assistance to people suffering from the dire humanitarian
situation, which worsened when the Taliban forces took over control of
the country in August 2021 and has now worsened again. As of January 7,
media reported that Afghan officials stated that thirty of the
country’s 34 provinces had received heavy snowfall, with roads
impassable in 10 provinces. On January 19, additional reports stated
that at least eight people had died, in three separate landslides and
avalanches in the country.
On February 3, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
(MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of a
blanket of snow sprawled across the Hindu Kush mountains of
Afghanistan. The Daily Snow Depth for Afghanistan, published by the
Early Warning and Environmental Monitoring Program of the US Geological
Survey (USGS) on February 5, shows maximum depth at a few of the
highest mountain elevations in northeast Afghanistan measuring more
than two meters (79 inches), although most snow depth measured about
half that much.
Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 2/3/2022
Resolutions: 1km (1.1 MB), 500m (2.9 MB), 250m (1.9 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2022-02-06
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