by Lu Shuqun
KABUL, March 20 (Xinhua) -- In March the mercury is slowly rising in Afghanistan, but heavy snowfall in Kabul recently reminded Afghans how bitterly cold winter has been.
The extreme weather has taken the lives of more than 100 people and injured scores of others across the war-torn country.
Hundreds of houses also collapsed due to the wintry weather and thousands of cattle were killed, wiping out the livelihood of dozens of war-weary farmers. In some cases, avalanches buried whole villages in the blink of an eye.
To survive the sub-zero conditions, many people rely on stoves to drive off the cold and in Kabul almost every room in a relatively well-build house has a chimney.
When winter comes, people move an iron stove into their room and burn wood for warmth. The traditional stoves, which have the appearance of an oil tank, cost between 4000 and 6000 Afghanis (59 to 88 U.S. dollars).
Another kind of stove, called a Turkish stove, which has a shiny appearance, is worth 12,000 to 14,000 Afghanis. The stoves get very hot when the wood is burning and a careless hand can easily lead to serious burns.
"At night, when the stove is burning, the room gets very hot, and you may find it difficult to fall asleep. But when you fall asleep and the wood burns out, it becomes cold in the room, sometimes forcing you to wake up," Farid, 39, a Kabul resident explained to Xinhua.
"The chimney may get blocked after being used for a couple of months and it needs cleaning from time to time," said Farid, referring to how inconvenient the stoves can be.
Farid is lucky compared to other Afghans. In Kabul, every kilogram of wood costs more than 10 Afghanis, which is more expensive than a piece of naan, a common food here.
About 40 percent of the Afghan population live under the poverty line, which means for many families, it's difficult to get enough food, let alone buying wood for warmth.
Mohammad, 24, a refugee from the southern Helmand province, now lives in an internally displaced person's (IDP) camp in western Kabul.
"We have been living in temporary shelters for many years. Our living condition is poor in the camp. We don't have portable water facilities, toilets or washrooms," sighed Mohammad.
"We have no real jobs. I sell fruit along the highway in front of the camp. But I can only earn a little money which is not enough to buy food," he continued.
He went on to explain that his children go around the city collecting garbage. They sell some recyclable items, if they can, to make money.
The rest of the garbage including paper and plastic bags is used to make fire for cooking and heating the tents during the winter, he said.
"Sometimes it's even difficult to find enough garbage to keep warm," bemoaned Mohammad in his cold makeshift house.
The war destroyed many residences' central heating systems, leaving only the pipes or radiators to heat houses or offices. Nowadays, such heating systems are only available in a few places.
Afghans also try to use household appliances like air conditioners or electric heaters in winter, but the power supply is not stable, which dramatically reduces the lifespan of the appliances.
In addition, electricity, most of which is imported from neighboring countries, is very expensive.
For many people like Mohammad, the only hope is to wait for spring and for warmer climes to ease the misery. (Xinhua reporters Farid Behbud, Abdul Haleem in Kabul contributed to the report.)
