Visibility was almost zero in the affected areas and the light seemed to be immersed in an orange filter.
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Limited visibility, red eyes and orange light. On Saturday April 9, most of Iraq was caught in a dust storm for the third consecutive day, which resulted in “tens” hospitalizations for respiratory problems, according to Health Ministry spokesman Saif al-Badr.
The cloud first hit northern Iraq on Thursday, including the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan, where flights were canceled at Erbil airport. It then slid south, enveloping Baghdad and other cities like Nasiriyah on Saturday.
Visibility was almost zero in the affected areas and the light seemed to be immersed in an orange filter. In the streets, cars, scooters and houses were covered with an ocher-colored film, AFP journalists noted.
The phenomenon should calm down from “Saturday afternoon”explained Amer al-Jabri, the director of Iraqi meteorological information, interviewed by AFP.
Sand and dust storms are not uncommon in Iraq, a semi-desert country, especially in the spring. Amer al-Jabri, however, said he expected in the future to “increased dust storms due to drought, desertification and rain deficits (…) which weaken the vegetation cover”likely to mitigate the effects of storms.
Iraq is one of the countries most vulnerable to global warming and desertification. Droughts there are becoming more frequent and more severe, with temperatures that can stay above 50 degrees Celsius in summer, for several days in a row.