Hundreds hospitalized in Baghdad as sandstorm hits country
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Sandstorms have been hitting Iraq for more than a month, causing serious health problems and several economic disruptions.
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Sandstorms have been hitting Iraq for more than a month, causing serious health problems among the population.
A heavy sandstorm tore through Iraq on Monday, resulting in hundreds hospitalized with impaired breathing, Iraqi media reported.
As hundreds flocked to the hospitals with symptoms of suffocation due to the sand storm in Baghdad, resuscitation brigades started patrolling residential areas to provide assistance, Shafaq News reported.
The Iraqi government declared a day off in state institutions and ordered all airports to suspend operations, the news agency added.
Health Ministry Spokesperson Seif Al-Badr told AFP that more than 1,000 people were hospitalized across the nation with respiratory problems.
On his part, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi ordered all work to cease in state-run institutions, except for health and security services, citing "poor climatic conditions and the arrival of violent sandstorms."
Sandstorms have been hitting Iraq for more than a month, causing serious health problems among the population.
Iraq's previous two sandstorms killed one person and sent nearly 10,000 people to the hospital with respiratory problems.
The country is ranked as one of the world's five most vulnerable nations to climate change and desertification.
It is noteworthy that the Iraqi Environment Ministry has warned that over the next two decades, Iraq could endure an average of 272 days of sandstorms per year, rising to above 300 by 2050.
