Since mid-April, Iraq has been swept by 9 large-scale sandstorms, a phenomenon particularly harmful to health which has been aggravated by desertification.
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This Monday, May 23, a new storm of sand swept across Iraq, plunging cities into an orange atmosphere laden with dust and pollutants. Air traffic was interrupted in Baghdad and Erbil due to reduced visibility and many businesses and administrations had to close.
With more than one sandstorm per week in the space of a month and a half, the situation is unprecedented according to the meteorologists Iraqis. More than 1,200 people had to be hospitalized for respiratory problems, and more than 10,000 during the two previous storms.
If this region of the world is accustomed to sandstorms during spring and summer, such a repetition is surprising. The sand particles are pushed by winds powerful on lands that are increasingly arid, but also increasingly bare. In addition to drought prevailing in the country, land degradationfor the extraction of oilagriculture and overgrazing, has led to large areas without trees nor almost any vegetation. Without plants to counter the winds, and without roots to stabilize the soil, the storms are loaded with dust and have no more obstacles to stop them, or weaken them. The rivers were also dried upboth through urbanization and the effects of climate change.
Desertification affects 39% of Iraqi territory. If nothing is done for improve the situationIraq will have to prepare for an average of 272 days of sandstorms per year, or even 300 days per year by 2050 according to the country’s environment ministry.
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