Environment

Heavy dust storm kills 7 in eastern Syria: SOHR

The Arab Regional Weather Center said the dust storm is most powerful in Deir al-Zor, with speeds as high as 90 kilometers per hour.

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2022/05/16 17:29

Syria's eastern Deir al-Zor province was heavily affected by the dust storm (Photo: SANA)

Syria Dust storms Syria Deir al-Zor

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Seven people died after a heavy dust storm hit Syria's eastern Deir al-Zor province, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) war monitor reported on Monday.

SOHR initially reported four deaths caused by the dust storm on Sunday. About 200 people have also suffered from respiratory problems, and hospitals in eastern Syria received dozens of suffocation cases.

Syria's state-run SANA news agency also reported the strong storm caused power outages in the Hasakah province.

The Arab Regional Weather Center said the dust storm is most powerful in Deir al-Zor, with speeds as high as 90 kilometers per hour.

Dust storms have increased in Syria and Iraq due to drought and climate change.

"With the Middle East and North Africa region in the midst of a state of extraordinary drought and aridity, dust storm events will likely continue to propagate in greater numbers during the summer season," Mohammed Mahmoud, Senior Fellow and Director of the Climate and Water Program at the Middle East Institute, wrote in a briefing in early May.

"This is because with reduced soil moisture and dry surface conditions, it becomes easier for dust and sand particles to be picked up in larger quantities by regional winds, thus providing the perfect breeding ground for dust storms," he concluded.