1,000 suffer breathing difficulties from latest dust storm in Iraq

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi health workers recorded 1,000 cases of "suffocation" in the last 24 hours due to the latest dust storm that engulfed the country this week.

Iraqi hospitals have recorded 1,000 cases of patients suffering from breathing difficulties, the Iraqi Health Ministry Spokesperson Saif Al-Badr said in a statement on Tuesday.

The majority of the patients left hospitals after receiving the necessary treatment, according to the official.

The storm is the tenth one to hit Iraq since the start of the year. As with its predecessors, it forced the international airports of Baghdad and Najaf to cancel and ground flights due to extremely low visibility.

More people suffered breathing difficulties in previous dust storms. In late May, for example, at least 4,000 cases were recorded.

Experts believe that climate change and the mismanagement of vital water resources are behind the increase in these storms.

"Climate change has become a very convenient excuse for officials to avoid responsibility for not taking action over the last 20 to 40 years," Azzam Alwash, the head of Nature Iraq, a non-for-profit environmental organization, told AP in early May.

Outdated agricultural practices are another contributing factor, according to Alwash.

Iraq is the fifth most vulnerable country to the adverse effects of climate change.