Afghanistan faces more floods, droughts, and unpredictable rains, yet most communities have no way to track rainfall. The Balkh Rain Network (BaRaN) trains local volunteers-farmers, teachers, and youth-to measure and share rain data using simple tools. Their work fills critical information gaps, helping families plan for crops, prepare for floods, and build lasting climate resilience.
Afghanistan's climate is growing harsher, with longer droughts and sudden floods affecting millions. Decades of conflict have destroyed most rainfall stations, leaving vast areas without reliable data. Without this information, farmers, planners, and families struggle to manage water, grow food, or prepare for weather extremes that threaten their lives and livelihoods.
BaRaN equips community volunteers with low-cost rain gauges and simple training to collect and share rainfall data. Their reports fill major gaps in national records and help create early warnings for floods and droughts. The project connects farmers, teachers, and youth, showing that everyone can play a part in protecting their community and preparing for a changing climate.
BaRaN is building a sustainable, community-led rainfall network across Afghanistan. The data collected by citizen scientists will guide farmers' planting decisions, improve local water management, support schools in teaching climate awareness, and strengthen early warning systems. Over time, this growing network will restore national rainfall knowledge and empower communities to face climate change with confidence and self-reliance.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
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