At least 21 people have died in the past few weeks due to the cold weather and heavy snowfalls in parts of the country, officials said.

The Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) on Saturday said in a statement that the bad weather has claimed the lives of at least 21 people in 15 provinces and a further 16 have had to receive medical treatment.

Provinces hit by severe weather recently include Kandahar, Ghazni, Paktia, Ghor, Zabul, Baghlan, Nangarhar, Kunar, Kapisa, Nuristan, Parwan, Herat, Laghman, Bamiyan and Panjsher, read the statement.

As a result of heavy snow and rainfall 21 houses were completely destroyed and 59 others damaged, ANDMA said.

Currently main roads in the northern and central provinces are closed due to heavy snowfall.