Kabul — After two winters without snow, Kabul residents are anxiously scouring the hills for the first flakes, wary that the depletion of this major source of water further fuels instability in war-ravaged Afghanistan. Historically speaking, a snowless year is highly unusual for this ancient capital, built 1,500m above sea-level in the foothills of the Hindu Kush. "Kabul can be without gold but not without snow," according to a local proverb. But as the world gets warmer, that is changing. "Countrywide, in the last decade nearly every year has seen either flooding or drought," Mohammad Salim, an expert at the UN Development Programme agency said. "And if the current trends continue, droughts will become the new normal." The mountainous land-locked country was classed in 2012 as among the most vulnerable to climate change, a worldwide problem that is the subject of a UN conference in Marrakesh this week. And it is here that the knock-on effects of global warming will be keenly felt. ...
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