Saudi Arabia’s meteorological association reported that visibility would drop to zero on the roads in Riyadh, the capital, this week. “Its a region-wide issue but each country has a different degree of vulnerability and weakness,” said Jaafar Jotheri, a geoarchaeologist at the University of Al-Qadisiyah in Baghdad. The storms have sent thousands to hospitals and resulted in at least one death in Iraq and three in Syria’s east. The Health Ministry stockpiled cannisters of oxygen at facilities in hard-hit areas, according to a statement. Iraqi authorities declared the day a national holiday, urging government workers and residents to stay home in anticipation of the 10th storm to hit the country in the last two months. But this year they have occurred nearly every week in Iraq since March. Sandstorms are typical in late spring and summer, spurred by seasonal winds. It was the latest in a series of unprecedented nearly back-to-back sandstorms this year that have bewildered residents and raised alarm among experts and officials, who blame climate change and poor governmental regulations.įrom Riyadh to Tehran, bright orange skies and a thick veil of grit signaled yet another stormy day Monday. BAGHDAD (AP) - A sandstorm blanketed parts of the Middle East on Monday, including Iraq, Syria and Iran, sending people to hospitals and disrupting flights in some places.
