A powerful sandstorm swept through central and southern Iraq on Monday, hospitalising more than 1,800 people with respiratory problems, according to health officials. The storm, described by local authorities as the biggest of the year, cloaked entire regions in an orange haze, severely reducing visibility and prompting temporary airport closures.
Hospitals in Muthanna province received at least 700 patients suffering from suffocation, a local health official confirmed to AFP news agency. In Najaf province, over 250 people were admitted to hospitals for similar breathing issues, reported newspaper Arab News. Diwaniyah province reported at least 322 patients, including children, arriving at hospitals with respiratory distress, stated the provincial health department’s media officer, according to broadcasting company BBC.
More than 530 additional cases were recorded across Dhi Qar and Basra provinces, Arab News stated. In several areas, emergency services were seen assisting people struggling to breathe, with some patients receiving oxygen inside ambulances. Police officers and pedestrians were spotted wearing face masks in a bid to shield themselves from the thick dust that hung in the air.
Visibility dropped to less than one kilometre, forcing the closure of airports in both Najaf and Basra provinces, officials reported. Weather services said conditions were expected to gradually improve by morning of April 15, 2025.
Dust storms are a common phenomenon in Iraq, but experts believe they are occurring more frequently due to the effects of climate change. The Iraqi environment ministry has warned of an increasing number of “dust days” in the years ahead, reported BBC.
The United Nations has ranked Iraq among the five countries most vulnerable to climate change impacts, citing frequent sandstorms, rising temperatures, and chronic water shortages.
A similar storm in 2022 left one person dead and more than 5,000 others in need of treatment for respiratory illnesses, BBC further reported.