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 A month-long cold wave has swept from Afghanistan into Bangladesh, Nepal and northern India, claiming new victims each day. Said to be the coldest weather in centuries, the phenomenon has already caused more than 1,400 deaths, the largest number -- nearly 600 -- being in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh. With temperatures hovering at zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit), the cold weather may be caused by frigid air blowing from the Himalayas.
In Afghanistan, many people face the extreme temperatures without blankets and with only the walls of their mud huts to protect them against wind, ice and snow. In India, biting winds – sometimes called “Siberian winds” – are damaging the crops.
World Vision and partner agencies are distributing blankets, firewood and emergency medical supplies to people in the affected areas. Soup kitchens also are being set up. “We hope taking these steps now will keep people from leaving their villages looking for assistance in the coming months,” says Graham Strong, World Vision’s Afghanistan operations director. “When people have what they need at home, they will stay at home. And, God willing, we can avoid another tragic situation.”
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