New Delhi, Dec. 17 -- More than 17 million people in Afghanistan are facing crisis levels of hunger in the coming winter months, the leading international authority on hunger crises and the U.N. food aid agency warned Tuesday.

The number at risk is some 3 million more than a year ago.

Economic woes, recurrent drought, shrinking international aid and and influx of Afghans returning home from countries like neighboring Iran and Pakistan have strained resources and added to the pressures on food security, reports the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, known as IPC, which tracks hunger crises.

"What the IPC tells us is that more than 17 million people in Afghanistan are facing acute food insecurity. That is 3 million more than ...