Airports and public services were closed across Iraq today as another sandstorm – the 9th of mid-April – hit the country, authorities said.
Iraq is one of the five countries in the world most vulnerable to the effects of climate change and desertification.
As an AFP correspondent describes it, the capital Baghdad was shrouded in a cloud of dust this morning, covering empty streets that are usually buzzing with traffic.
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Qadimi has ordered a temporary halt to public services, with the exception of health facilities and security services.
He cited “bad weather conditions and severe sandstorms that are expected”, according to a statement issued by his office.
The environment ministry has warned that over the next two decades, Iraq is likely to experience an average of 272 days of sandstorms a year, which will exceed 300 by 2050.
Air traffic was disrupted today at Baghdad, Arbil and Najaf International Airports, according to announcements from those airports.
One person was killed in the last two sandstorms and about 10,000 others were taken to hospital with respiratory problems.
The Middle East has always had sandstorms, but in recent years they have become more frequent and intense.
This phenomenon has been linked to increasing water scarcity, excessive use of river water, increasing number of dams, overgrazing and deforestation.
Iraq’s oil-rich country is known in Arabic as the Land of the Two Rivers, a reference to the Tigris and Euphrates.
Source: Capital
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