BAGHDAD — Another sandstorm
that descended Monday on climate-stressed
Iraq sent at least 4,000 people to the
hospital with breathing problems and led to the closure of airports, schools,
and public offices across the country.
اضافة اعلان
It is the eighth dust storm since mid-April
to hit Iraq, which has been battered by soil degradation, intense droughts, and
low
rainfall linked to climate change.
The last one earlier this month led to the
death of one person, while more than 5,000 others had to be hospitalized for
respiratory problems.
On Monday, a thick cloud of dust enveloped
the capital
Baghdad in an orange glow and blanketed many other cities including
the Shiite shrine city of Najaf to the south, and Sulaimaniyah in the northern
Kurdish autonomous region, AFP correspondents said.
Yellow and orange sand-covered building
roofs, cars, and even crept into homes.
Authorities in seven of Iraq's 18 provinces,
including Baghdad, ordered government offices to shut.
But health facilities remained open to
assist those most at risk, including the elderly and people suffering from
chronic respiratory diseases and heart ailments.
At least 4,000 people were admitted to
hospital needing treatment for respiratory difficulties, health ministry
spokesman
Seif Al-Badr said, adding that all cases "received the necessary
medical care".
AFP correspondents saw around 20 patients,
most of them elderly men, at Baghdad's Sheikh Zayed Hospital.
One of them was Hadi Saada, 70, lying on his
side on a bed in the intensive care unit hooked to a respirator. He struggled
to breathe.
'Suffocating from dust'
"It is his third time in hospital"
since the sandstorms began in April, said his son Mohammed Saada, adding that
his father had a heart condition.
Another patient, Khaled Jassem, 70, was also
hooked to an oxygen tank.
"We've been here since 8am. ... My
father has a heart ailment, diabetes, hypertension, and is suffocating on the
dust," said his son Walid Jassem.
At least 75 people struggling to breathe
were admitted Monday to Sheikh Zayed, said Talib Abdelmoneim Nejm, one of the
ICU officials.
The sandstorm drastically reduced visibility
to just 300m at Baghdad airport, prompting authorities to close airspace and
halt flights, state-run INA news agency reported.
Airports in Najaf and Sulaimaniyah were also
closed for the day, the agency said.
Schools nationwide were also shuttered and
end of year exams postponed to Tuesday. Universities also delayed exams.
The latest sandstorm was expected to
gradually dissipate by Monday evening, weather services said.
The
Middle East has always been battered by
dust and sandstorms, but they have become more frequent and intense in recent
years.
The trend has been associated with overuse
of river water, more dams, overgrazing, and deforestation.
Iraq is rich in oil and is known in Arabic
as the land of the two rivers — in reference to the legendary Tigris and
Euphrates rivers.
But the supply of water has been declining
for years and Iraq is classified as one of the world's five countries most
vulnerable to climate change and desertification.
In April, an environment ministry official
warned that Iraq could face "272 days of dust" a year over the next
two decades.
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