Overview

• More than 1,800 people in Iraq were hospitalized due to respiratory problems caused by a severe sandstorm, with cases concentrated in provinces like Muthanna, Najaf, Diwaniyah, Dhi Qar, and Basra.
• Key airports in Najaf and Basra were temporarily shut down as visibility dropped to less than one kilometer due to the storm, the largest reported this year.
• Additional disruptions included power outages across affected provinces, compounding the storm’s impact on daily life and infrastructure.
• The sandstorm highlights the increasing frequency and severity of such events in Iraq, exacerbated by climate change and desertification, which have degraded 71% of the country’s arable land.
• Weather services forecast the storm to dissipate by Tuesday morning, but the event underscores Iraq’s vulnerability to extreme weather and the need for sustainable environmental policies.