Grishk | |
|---|---|
  Grishk Location in Afghanistan | |
| Coordinates:31°49′N64°33′E / 31.817°N 64.550°E /31.817; 64.550 | |
| Country |  Afghanistan |
| Province | Helmand |
| District | Grishk |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipality |
| Elevation | 2,680 ft (817 m) |
| Population (2025)[1] | |
• City | 146,506 |
| • Urban | 12,468 |
| • Rural | 134,038 |
| Time zone | UTC+4:30 (Afghanistan Time) |
Grishk[a] is acity in the southernHelmand Province ofAfghanistan. It is within the jurisdiction ofGrishk District and has an estimated population of 146,506 people.[1]
Grishk is at an elevation of approximately 817 m (2,680 ft) abovesea level. It is located about an hour's drive northeast ofLashkargah where theKandahar–Herat Highway passes over theHelmand River, some 120 km (75 mi) northwest ofKandahar and about the same distance southeast ofDelaram. Upstream lies theKajaki Dam which diverts water to theBoghra Irrigation Canal, an essential infrastructure for the region's crops.Grishk Dam is also nearby. The city was originally built around a fort on the east bank of the Helmand River but was later rebuilt on the west.
Grishk has a number ofbazaars, business centers, public parks, banks, hotels, restaurants,mosques,hospitals,universities, and places to playsports or relax. As part ofOperation Moshtarak theBritish Army and Afghan workers constructedRoute Trident, a road that connects Grishk with the provincial capital of Lashkargah.[2] Grishk is also the southern terminus ofRoute 611. The area is irrigated by theHelmand and Arghandab Valley Authority.[3]
Grishk has ahot desert climate (KöppenBWh), characterised by little precipitation and high variation between summer and winter temperatures. The average temperature in Grishk is 19.6 °C (67.3 °F), while the annual precipitation averages 117 mm (4.6 in). Summers start in mid-May, last until late-September, and are extremely dry. July is the hottest month of the year with an average temperature of 32.2 °C (90.0 °F). The coldest month January has an average temperature of 7.0 °C (44.6 °F).
| Climate data for Grishk | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 14.0 (57.2) | 16.7 (62.1) | 23.4 (74.1) | 28.5 (83.3) | 34.9 (94.8) | 40.1 (104.2) | 41.3 (106.3) | 39.6 (103.3) | 35.1 (95.2) | 29.2 (84.6) | 21.6 (70.9) | 16.0 (60.8) | 28.4 (83.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 7.0 (44.6) | 9.7 (49.5) | 15.7 (60.3) | 20.3 (68.5) | 25.9 (78.6) | 30.3 (86.5) | 32.2 (90.0) | 29.9 (85.8) | 24.6 (76.3) | 18.9 (66.0) | 12.3 (54.1) | 8.0 (46.4) | 19.6 (67.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 0.0 (32.0) | 2.7 (36.9) | 8.0 (46.4) | 12.1 (53.8) | 16.9 (62.4) | 20.6 (69.1) | 23.2 (73.8) | 20.3 (68.5) | 14.2 (57.6) | 8.7 (47.7) | 3.1 (37.6) | 0.0 (32.0) | 10.8 (51.5) |
| Source: Climate-Data.org[4] | |||||||||||||
Grishk has an estimated population of 146,506 people.[1] They are primarilyPashtuns followed byHazaras andTajiks.[5] Grishk was under the control ofNoorzai tribe during theIslamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001), and Mullah Mir Hamza an ethnic Pashtun from Noorzai tribe was the District governor of Grishk, while Mullah Mahmmad Azam an ethnic Pashtun from Noorzai tribe was the commander of Taliban forces in Grishk.[6][7]
In November 2003, an Afghan civilianAbdul Wahed died inside theU.S. Special Forces base in Grishk, after being exposed to torture.[8] In April 2008 the 2nd Battalion 7th Marines, Echo Co, which was sent there to help support train theAfghan National Police, worked with the Danish and British military.[9]
On December 4, 2008, two Danish soldiers were killed near Grishk.[10]
In June 2017, the son of Taliban leaderHibatullah Akhundzada, named Hafiz Abdur-Rahman, committed a suicide attack onAfghan National Security Forces based in the city.[11]
The city, along with other parts of Helmand province and the whole of Afghanistan, fell to Taliban forces as a result of the2021 Taliban offensive.
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