IRAQ IN A HAZE AS DUST STORM HITS
One person has died and more than 5,000 have been admitted to hospital with respiratory problems after Iraq was hit with its seventh dust storm in a month.
Eighteen provinces, including Baghdad and the vast western region of Al Anbar, were affected by the weather on Thursday as thick clouds of dust turned the sky orange.
Storms were reported in central Iraq on Sunday, reducing visibility and forcing the authorities to suspend flights at two of the country’s main airports.
Meteorological officials said the country was under a North African depression known as “khamaseen”. The authorities in Al Anbar and Kirkuk, a region to the north of the capital, urged people to remain indoors, the Iraq News Agency reported.
Hospitals in Al Anbar have treated more than at least 700 patients for breathing difficulties as a result of the latest dust storm, health official Anas Qais told the INA.
More than 300 cases of breathing problems were reported in the central province of Salaheddin, while health officials in the central province of Diwaniya and Najaf province, south
of Baghdad, recorded about 100 cases, the INA reported.
Iraq is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, having already faced record low rainfall and high temperatures in the past few years.
Climate experts have said these factors risk causing major social and economic problems in the country.
In November, the World Bank said Iraq could suffer a 20 per cent drop in its water resources by 2050 owing to climate change. Last month, a government official said the country could face “272 days of dust” every year over coming decades.
The Iraqi Environment Ministry said the weather crisis could be addressed by “increasing vegetation cover and creating forests that act as windbreaks”.
The latest storm has hit only weeks after a severe dust storm enveloped parts of central Iraq, forcing the authorities to suspend flights from Baghdad airport
The storm, which mainly hit the capital, started at dawn and turned the sky orange and reddish-brown. Many people wore masks outside to help prevent them from inhaling dust particles.
Flights were suspended at the airports in Baghdad and Najaf that morning, but resumed in the afternoon after the storm passed, the Iraq Civil Aviation Authority said at the time.
The Iraqi Civil Defence Corps issued instructions to the public, urging them to be cautious when travelling through cities. People were also asked to limit the time they spent outside and to wash their faces if exposed to the dust.