A DUST storm that has swept through much of Iraq has left dozens of people in hospital with respiratory problems, said a Health Ministry spokesman yesterday.

The storm erupted in the north of the country on Thursday, prompting the cancellation of flights serving Arbil, capital of the autonomous region of Kurdistan.

As the storm swept south, it shrouded Baghdad and cities as far south as Nasiriyah in a ghostly orange.

In the capital, buildings and vehicles were covered in ochre-coloured dust, reported AFP journalists.

The storm has caused “dozens of hospitalisations due to respiratory problems across Iraq”, said Health Ministry spokesman Saif al-Badr.

Iraq’s meteorological office director Amer al-Jabri said while dust storms are not uncommon in the country, they are becoming more frequent “due to drought, desertification and declining rainfall”.

Iraq is particularly vulnerable to climate change, having already witnessed record low rainfall and high temperatures in recent years.

Experts said these factors threaten social and economic disaster in the war-scarred country.

In November, the World Bank warned that Iraq may suffer a 20% drop in water resources due to climate change by 2050. – AFP, April 10, 2022.