ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Over 3,700 people were admitted to hospitals across Iraq due to breathing difficulties caused by dust storms, the health ministry said on Tuesday, after a severe dust storm engulfed the country’s center and south. "The number of suffocation cases recorded due to the dust storm yesterday and to date has reached 3,747 admissions to emergency rooms in Baghdad and the provinces," ministry spokesperson Said al-Badr told state media. The southern oil-rich province of Basra topped the chart of hospitalizations with over 1,000, followed by Muthanna and Maysan respectively, according to Badr. “Most of the cases have fully recovered and left after receiving the necessary treatment,” and ministry officials “have not recorded any deaths, and there are no cases admitted to intensive care or elsewhere,” he added. Officials have urged residents to take precautions to avoid complications from dust inhalation. Hospitals across the country are also equipped with an ample supply of oxygen and medical supplies, Badr assured. Dust storms are common in Iraq but have become more frequent and intense due to prolonged drought, desertification, and rising temperatures. According to Iraq’s environment ministry, the country has been experiencing 272 dust days per year over the past two decades. That number is projected to reach 300 by 2050. Iraq is among the nations most vulnerable to climate change. Poor water management and dam construction in upstream countries have drastically reduced the flow of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The United Nations has called for urgent measures to address environmental degradation and mitigate the worsening climate crisis in Iraq.
