Skip linksSkip to Content
play
Live
Navigation menu
  • News
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • US & Canada
    • Latin America
    • Europe
    • Asia Pacific
  • Middle East
  • Explained
  • Opinion
  • Sport
  • Video
    • Features
    • Economy
    • Human Rights
    • Climate Crisis
    • Investigations
    • Interactives
    • In Pictures
    • Science & Technology
    • Podcasts
play
Live

In Pictures

Gallery|Environment

Afghans rely on coal to keep warm as winter cold sets in

Afghans have few options but to burn coal for heat, creating some of the world’s most dangerous air.

A vendor showing coal to customers at a coal yard on the outskirts of Kabul [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]
Published On 25 Nov 202125 Nov 2021
facebooktwitterwhatsappcopylink

At a Kabul market, coal is arriving by the tonnes as the winter cold sets in.

Even as prices rise, Afghans have few options but to burn it for heat, creating some of the world’s most dangerous air.

“Pollution causes serious respiratory diseases … All Afghans know what coal does,” customer Amanullah Daudzai, dressed in a traditional beige shalwar kameez, tells the AFP news agency.

More than three months after the Taliban stormed to power after the collapse of the Western-backed government, Afghanistan’s economy is facing collapse as the country is cut off from the international financial institutions. The freezing of more than $9bn in Afghan assets by the US has further worsened the banking crisis.

In such desperate conditions, Daudzai says coal is still cheaper than the alternatives.

“If we had electricity and gas, people wouldn’t use coal,” says one of the market traders, Abdullah Rahimi.

‘Hotter and hotter’

It is a long way from this month’s COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, where nearly 200 nations signed a deal to try to halt runaway global warming, naming coal use among the main culprits.

Afghanistan, one of the world’s poorest countries, remains a relatively modest polluter.

In 2018, the average Afghan caused 0.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, compared with about 15 from the average American, World Bank figures show.

Nevertheless, Kabul is often ranked in the top 10 worst cities for pollution globally.

Every winter the air in the capital, located at an altitude of 1,800 metres (5,900 feet), becomes toxic, filled with smoke from domestic heaters burning coal, wood and any other waste that can be burned, from household rubbish to car tyres.

Advertisement

From the surrounding mountains, the thick cloud of smog that covers the basin where at least five million people live can clearly be seen.

“Global warming is a problem for the whole world. We are aware of it here,” says Daudzai.

“It’s getting hotter and hotter, we don’t get snow every winter like we used to.”

Day labourers shovelling coal at a coal yard on the outskirts of Kabul. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]
Advertisement
A day labourer pushing a wheelbarrow at a coal yard on the outskirts of Kabul. "If we had electricity and gas, people wouldn't use coal," says one of the market traders. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]
In 2018, the average Afghan caused 0.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, compared with about 15 from the average American, World Bank figures show. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]
Labourers unloading coal from a truck at a coal yard. Afghanistan, one of the world's poorest countries, remains a relatively modest polluter. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]
Coal prices have risen by nine percent in the past year, partly because of more expensive transport. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]
Even as prices rise, Afghans have few options but to burn coal for heat. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]
Advertisement
A day labourer eating his breakfast at a coal yard on the outskirts of Kabul. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]
"Before, we used to sell one or two truckloads a day. Now we need 15 or 20 days," says the trader Rahimi. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]


    • About Us
    • Code of Ethics
    • Terms and Conditions
    • EU/EEA Regulatory Notice
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Cookie Preferences
    • Sitemap
    • Work for us
    • Contact Us
    • User Accounts Help
    • Advertise with us
    • Stay Connected
    • Newsletters
    • Channel Finder
    • TV Schedule
    • Podcasts
    • Submit a Tip
    • Al Jazeera Arabic
    • Al Jazeera English
    • Al Jazeera Investigative Unit
    • Al Jazeera Mubasher
    • Al Jazeera Documentary
    • Al Jazeera Balkans
    • AJ+
    • Al Jazeera Centre for Studies
    • Al Jazeera Media Institute
    • Learn Arabic
    • Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights
    • Al Jazeera Forum
    • Al Jazeera Hotel Partners

Follow Al Jazeera English:

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • youtube
  • instagram-colored-outline
  • rss
Al Jazeera Media Network logo
© 2025 Al Jazeera Media Network