Drought leaves Kabul facing a water crisis

KABUL - Standing in his garden in Kabul, Baz Mohammad Kochi oversees the drilling of a new well more than 100 meters deep after his first water reservoir dried up. He is not alone.

A shortage of rain and snow, a booming population and wasteful consumption have drained the Afghan capital's water basin and sparked a race to the bottom as households and businesses bore deeper and deeper wells in search of the precious resource.

"The water level has dropped so much that it is now necessary to reach other underground basins 100 meters, even 120 meters" deep, says well digger Mohammad Aman as his dilapidated machine pierces the ocher earth in Kochi's yard.