Iraq
Fishermen sit in a boat opposite the port of Basra during a sandstorm sweeping through the country on May 23, 2022. Photo: Hussein Faleh/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - After less than a week of relatively clean weather, Iraq’s meteorology department on Saturday warned that a new dust storm would sweep through Iraq and the Kurdistan Region this week, marking the tenth wave of dust storms in the country in two months.
The spokesperson to Iraq’s meteorology and seismology directorate, Amer al-Jabri, on Saturday told Rudaw that their department’s forecast shows yet another wave of dust storm is set to arrive in Iraq’s central and southern provinces on Sunday and a day later to the Region.
The dust storm that will come less than a week after dust engulfed several of the country’s provinces on Monday will remain for a few days this time. It is believed to end on Wednesday by the time of which it would have already covered majority of the country, including the Kurdistan Region.
Jabri said that on Monday and Tuesday, the speed of the wind will at times reach 30 kilometers per hour and result in a dust storm in the majority of the country.
“This will result in visibility to reduce down to two to four kilometers, but we expect the dust storm to end on Wednesday,” he said.
This will be the tenth wave of dust storms enveloping the country since March.
Scores of people have been hospitalized for breathing difficulties across the country over the past two months.
Earlier this month, around four thousand cases of breathing difficulties were recorded across several provinces of Iraq, with Kirkuk, Salahaddin, Wasit, and Basra accounting for almost 1,300 of the hospitalized cases.
Iraq's environment ministry in April said that the number of dusty days in the country has increased from 243 to 272 days per year over the past two decades, and is expected to reach 300 dusty days per year in 2050.
Despite Jabri denying such statements earlier this month and stating that it was not possible “to expect storms during 300 days throughout the year,” Iraq’s deteriorating climate situation and low rainfall could eventually lead the country into a dust-covered area for the majority of the year.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has long warned that the water available in Iraq is set to decrease by around 20 percent by 2025, threatening the long-term stability of Iraq’s agriculture and industry.
According to another concerning report by the United Nations, dams built in neighboring Turkey and Iran have also dramatically reduced the combined volume of the Tigris and Euphrates by up to 60 percent.
Iraq is the fifth-most vulnerable nation in the world to the effects of climate change, including water and food insecurity.
In November, the World Bank warned that Iraq is running out of water, with devastating consequences for the country’s employment and economy, stressing the failure to manage water resources as a key damaging factor.
The effects of climate change in Iraq are not just words anymore. A senior advisor at the Iraqi water resources ministry warned last month that the country’s water reserves have decreased by half since last year, due to a combination of drought, lack of rainfall, and declining river levels.
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