Abdul Bari, a driver who uses this alternative system, said it worked even better than traditional air-conditioning units. "ACs only cool the front. This cooler will blast air throughout the car," he said, using tape to secure the exhaust vent and his assistant to place the cooler on the roof.
The system needs to be refilled with water twice a day, but Bari explains, "'It works well with me."
Rising Heat and Creative Solutions
The searing heat in Afghanistan is only the latest in a litany of signs that the country is growing increasingly vulnerable to climate change. As one of the poorest countries in the world, Afghanistan is intertwined with environmental and economic challenges, where steady cooling becomes a privilege.
The summers became unbearable in recent years, said Gul Mohammad, a 32-year-old driver in Kandahar. "The AC in these cars did not function, and it was too costly to repair," he said. Instead, he paid 3,000 Afghanis (about $43) for a made-to-order unit from a local tinkerer.
Passengers and customers are happy to have these on-the-fly coolers. Travel is miserable without any cooling, said Norullah, a 19-year-old regular passenger. "I even bring an anti-heat medicine with me," he said, mentioning that at one point he'd had to be put on an IV drip for heat-related illness.
The Climate Is Warming, Fueling the Crisis
Afghanistan has just suffered its hottest spring on record, between April and June. A crippling drought is sweeping across the country, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation says, compounding the crisis already faced by farmers and rural communities.
Environmentalists have consistently warned that climate change will worsen Afghanistan's human crisis. In spite of warnings of the challenges ahead, Afghanistan has not been included in UN climate talks since the Taliban took over in August 2021, when US-led forces left the country.
With little outside help and scant infrastructure, citizens are turning to creativity and grit to survive the worsening effects of climate change. The Kandahar taxi's homemade coolers are one tiny but telling sign of how Afghans are adapting in real time to extreme conditions.
