Iraq has been witnessing unprecedented sandstorms since mid-April and the eighth sandstorm hit the Middle East country on Monday. The heavy sandstorm forced the suspension of flights and the shutting down of schools and offices.
Many people with breathing difficulties rushed to hospitals in Baghdad and southern cities, the BBC report said citing medical officials. The report also said that the haze decreased visibility to merely a few hundred feet in Iraq’s capital and southern cities.
Videos and images showing orange haze clouding the streets of Iraq have surfaced online. Few people can be seen walking covering their noses as a thick cloud of dust enveloped the areas and an orange glow blanketed the streets.
Dust storm hits Iraq’s Baghdad.
📸 @SabahAfp #AFP pic.twitter.com/O1BuR5BqKf— AFP Photo (@AFPphoto) May 16, 2022
Dukan lake of Kurdistan, the dust storm today. #Kurdistan #TwitterKurds #Iraq #DustStorm pic.twitter.com/SfMlXQNyQV
— Sardar Sattar (@SardarSattar) May 16, 2022
#Iraq is in the middle of a huge man made disaster. Still zero visibility as dust storm persists. pic.twitter.com/oJReU8Uuak
— Aisha Saleh (@SalehAisha_2) May 17, 2022
🔴 #BREAKING
Baghdad governor announced that schools will be closed on Tuesday in Baghdad due to the dust storm enveloping the capital for the second day in a row. #Iraq #Baghdad #DustStorm pic.twitter.com/FP3RAhHHtV— Sardar Sattar (@SardarSattar) May 16, 2022
The worst dust storm in decades has hit #Iraq #storm #hurricane #weather #Climat pic.twitter.com/zw3I5oPFj3
— NEWS/INCIDENTS (@Brave_spirit81) May 16, 2022
Dust storm clouded the streets of #Baghdad in #Iraq pic.twitter.com/31S02JynGv
— Farug Mousa (@FarugMousa) May 17, 2022
The #Sentinel3 satellite captured this fantastic view of a huge dust storm, or haboub, passing over Iraq earlier today (16th May).
The cloud of dust is slightly bigger than the whole of the UK! pic.twitter.com/tpzZd0lZfn— Simon Proud (@simon_sat) May 16, 2022
A massive dust storm sweeping across Iraq, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. pic.twitter.com/4ZZggyTU5K
— CIRA (@CIRA_CSU) May 16, 2022
Another view of the gigantic dust storm, this time from @eumetsat‘s #Meteosat.
You can see the progress of the storm as it moves South-Easterly through Iraq and across the water. https://t.co/NLod3C82Wu pic.twitter.com/gRKmPoL10a— Simon Proud (@simon_sat) May 16, 2022
“It’s every three or four days now,” Ahmed Zaman, a taxi driver, was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera. “It’s clearly a result of climate change and lack of rain, whenever there’s wind it just kicks up dust and sand,” added Zaman.
The Associated Press reported citing experts and officials that the sandstorms have been occurring frequently due to record-low rainfall, desertification, and climate change. Notably, the country is also prone to seasonal sandstorms. There is also a warning issued by the World Bank that water resources in the country could potentially decrease by 20 per cent by 2050.
