On Tuesday, a second dust storm struck wide areas of Iraq, less than a week after the first, forcing many to seek medical attention due to suffocation cases and leading to the temporary closure of Baghdad and Najaf international airports. This phenomenon followed a similar storm that affected most regions of Iraq the previous week.
Visibility was very low on Tuesday morning in most central areas of Iraq, including the capital Baghdad, which was enveloped in an orange hue due to the low sand cloud. A large number of pedestrians wore medical masks to avoid the dust that covered buildings and cars with a yellow layer, according to correspondents from the French Press Agency.
Health Ministry spokesperson Saif al-Badr told AFP, "Hospitals received suffocation cases due to difficulty in breathing, but most of them are simple cases," noting that there were no statistics on the number of affected individuals. The Baghdad and Najaf airports (south of Baghdad), which receive thousands of visitors annually from various countries, were also closed temporarily this morning, resulting in the cancellation of dozens of flights. After noon, the airports reopened following improved visibility and reduced impact from the dust storm, which has become a recurring phenomenon in the country.
Dust storms frequently occur in Iraq, a semi-desert country, particularly in the spring. Iraqi meteorological department spokesman Amer al-Jabari told AFP that "the main reason for dust storms is the lack of rainfall and increasing desertification with the absence of green belts" around cities. Iraq is considered one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change and desertification, especially due to increasing drought conditions with summer temperatures surpassing fifty degrees Celsius for several days. The World Bank warned in November of a 20% decrease in Iraq's water resources by 2050 due to climate change.
