A thick coat of orange dust floats over the Iraqi capital on Sunday, hit by yet another sandstorm that caused the temporary closure of the international airports of Baghdad and Najaf, in a country where these climatic phenomena are only getting worse.
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The same orange dust envelops southern regions of the semi-desert country, particularly in the province of Nasiriyah, with meteorological services forecasting a continuation of the storm until Monday, according to the state news agency INA.
Citing visibility "
less than 500 meters
", Baghdad International Airport announced the interruption of air traffic.
"
Flights were interrupted at Baghdad and Najaf airports due to the dust storm
," Civil Aviation spokesman Jihad al-Diwan told AFP.
"
Air traffic will resume as usual if weather conditions improve
," he said.
In April alone, at least five dust storms hit Iraq, at times 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.
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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
."