Limited visibility, red eyes and orange light: most of Iraq was caught on Saturday for the third consecutive day in a dust storm that led to "
dozens
" of hospitalizations for respiratory problems.
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.
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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 storm caused "
dozens of hospitalizations throughout Iraq for respiratory problems
", Saif al-Badr, spokesman for the Ministry of Health, told AFP.
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.
But Amer al-Jabri said he expected in the future an "
increase in 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 climate change and desertification.
Droughts are becoming more frequent and more severe there, with temperatures which, in summer, can stay above 50 degrees Celsius for several days in a row.
