Weather of Arabia - The "RT" reporter reported that 3 people died out of 23 cases of suffocation and shortness of breath, and they arrived at Al-Touz General Hospital in Salah al-Din Governorate in Iraq, after a dust storm swept many regions of the country.
Kirkuk Health Director Nabil Hamdi Bushnak told the Iraqi News Agency (INA) on Thursday that more than 90 cases of suffocation and shortness of breath were recorded in Kirkuk Governorate, northern Iraq, due to the dust storm.
The health of the Kurdistan Region called on citizens to avoid leaving the house and wearing masks, especially those with asthma, respiratory allergies and heart diseases, at a time when many hospitals witnessed a large influx of infected people.
Erbil International Airport (EIA) and Sulaymaniyah International Airport in Kurdistan Region also suspended all flights on Thursday due to reduced visibility due to the massive sandstorm that hit the autonomous region and northern Iraq.
Officials in Mosul announced a holiday on Thursday throughout the Iraqi province, due to the heavy dust.
Read also: All flights suspended at two airports in northern Iraq due to the dense dust storm (photos)
#photos
Dust storm hits the city of #Erbil , the capital of #Kurdistan_Region #Iraq
Erbil - Suha Kamel - # North_Press pic.twitter.com/oEIkNKpr6B— North Press Agency - Arabic (@NPA_Arabic) April 7, 2022
The Kirkuk Traffic Department issued, earlier on Thursday, a number of instructions to citizens and vehicle drivers, after the dust storm that hit the province.
The director of Kirkuk Traffic, Brigadier General Muhammad Ismail Ali, stated that the department took its duty to preserve the lives of citizens by spreading detachments, operating light car signs, and instructing vehicle drivers to follow the instructions issued by the directorate, after the dust storm that hit Kirkuk governorate and caused a lack of visibility.
Among the instructions issued by the Kirkuk Traffic Department, which must be implemented during the dust storm:
Read also: Iraq - weekend | Heat fluctuations await the state and an expected intensification of dust waves
In early March, one person died as a result of a dust storm in Iraq, and another 1,000 people were hospitalized.
The increasing desertification in Iraq in recent years has contributed to the intensification of such storms, and Iraqi officials expect further increases in dust storms in the coming years.
Issa Rahim Dakhil Al-Fayyad, Director General of the Iraqi Ministry of Health and Environment, warned Tuesday that Iraq will witness a significant increase in the number of dust storms in the country during the next twenty years.
Iraq has been classified by the United Nations as the fifth country exposed to the adverse effects of climate change, and some of those effects are already starting to appear in Iraq, including reduced rainfall, drought, reduced wheat production, and water scarcity.
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