(Baghdad) A dust storm hits Iraq on Wednesday, the third in less than two weeks, again causing the temporary closure of international airports in Baghdad and Najaf, in a country where these climatic phenomena are only getting worse.
Posted at 10:45 a.m.
Citing the meteorological services, the state news agency INA indicated that the phenomenon should last until Thursday in this semi-desert country.
In Baghdad, a thick coat of gray and orange dust was floating, AFP journalists noted.
Due to visibility “less than 500 meters”, Baghdad International Airport announced “the interruption of air traffic” for Wednesday. The resumption will take place in the event of “improvement in weather conditions”, the airport said in a press release.
A similar announcement was made by the international airport of Najaf, a holy Shiite city south of Baghdad, which attracts millions of pilgrims every year.
“The dust is affecting the whole country but particularly the central and southern regions,” Amer al-Jaberi, a weather services official, told AFP.
“Iraq is facing climatic upheavals and suffers from a lack of rain, desertification and the absence of green belts” around cities, he said.
Last week, two dust storms have already hit the country, forcing airports in Baghdad and Najaf to briefly suspend flights and leading to hospitalizations for respiratory problems.
Iraq is one of the five countries in the world most vulnerable to climate change and desertification. In November, the World Bank estimated that this country could experience a 20% drop in its water resources by 2050.
During the next two decades, Iraq should experience “272 days of dust” per year and in 2050, the threshold of 300 days per year will be reached, assured in early April a senior official of the Ministry of the Environment, Issa al-Fayyad , quoted by the INA agency.
Among the measures needed to combat sand and dust storms, the ministry cited “increasing vegetation cover and creating forests that act as windbreaks with appropriate trees.”