Experts warn that Kabul is at risk to become the first modern city to completely run out of water.
A report by Mercy Corps notes that water levels within Kabul’s aquifers have dropped by up to 30 meters over the past decade owing to rapid urbanization and climate breakdown.
The report outlines the escalating threats to water access, health, and stability in Afghanistan’s capital. With aquifers nearing depletion, widespread contamination, and funding for WASH programming at historic lows, the report highlights urgent priorities for humanitarian actors and donors. It also outlines practical, coordinated solutions—including improved water governance and regulation, and renewed investment in strategic infrastructure—to avert a large-scale urban water collapse.
According to the report, almost half of the city’s boreholes – the primary source of drinking water for Kabul residents – have dried out. Water extraction currently exceeds the natural recharge rate by 44m cubic meters each year.
Water access is reportedly collapsing, and affordability is worsening: some households spend up to 30% of their income on water, with over two-thirds incurring water-related debt.
The report also highlights water contamination as another widespread challenge. Up to 80% of Kabul’s groundwater is deemed unsafe, with high levels of sewage, salinity and arsenic.
Data gaps and poor coordination are hampering response: outdated assessments, fragmented programming, and lack of data sharing reduce the efficiency and impact of aid efforts.
If these trends continue, all of Kabul’s aquifers will run dry as early as 2030, posing an existential threat to the city’s seven million inhabitants.
Some private companies are capitalizing on the crisis by actively digging new wells and extracting large amounts of public groundwater, then selling it back to city’s residents at inflated prices.
The report concludes with a discussion of opportunities for aid actors to engage the private sector to address Kabul’s water the crisis.
