Taliban officials have said that more than one hundred people have died across the country so far this year due to Afghanistan's coldest winter in a decade.

A strong cold air mass has flowed into the region, making temperatures lower than usual. In areas around the capital Kabul, temperatures fell below minus 20 degrees Celsius this month.

Authorities said many people, including children, have died of health problems or frozen to death.

In the southern Province of Kandahar, a woman named Najiba lost her one-year-old granddaughter Ahmedia early this month. She died after falling ill.

Najiba said that her granddaughter's father is a day laborer. The family had no money to buy enough food, or gas or firewood to heat their home.

She said her granddaughter "was like a light for our family. It was so cold this year that we couldn't warm her up."

The Taliban is calling for help from the United Nations and other countries. The UN estimates 28 million people, two-thirds of Afghanistan's population, are suffering from poverty and food shortages and need emergency humanitarian aid.