Sandstorm in Iraq leaves thousands hospitalised

Sunday, April 20, 2025 

On Monday, April 14, 2025, over 3,500 people in Iraq had been hospitalised with respiratory problems due to a severe sandstorm, the biggest of the year so far. It blanketed the skies with what was described as a "thick orange haze", reducing visibility to only hundreds of metres, and in some cases, even fewer.

The authorities closed airports in the Najaf and Basra provinces.

Conditions were expected to gradually improve on Tuesday, according to forecasts from local weather services.

Sandstorm in Iraq on 14th of April, 2025; satellite/aerial view. Published by NASA Earth Observatory.

UN has listed Iraq as one of the five countries most vulnerable to climate change as it encounters regular sandstorms, sweltering heat and water scarcity.

The last significantly severe sandstorm in Iraq was in 2022 and left one person dead and more than 5,000 needing treatment for respiratory illnesses.

Sources

• Alfie Tobutt, Yang Tian. "Iraq sandstorm leaves many with breathing problems" — BBC, April 15, 2025
• "Severe sandstorms engulf southern Iraq" — Aljazeera, April 15, 2025
• Lindsey Doermann. "Dust Storm Sweeps Through Iraq" — NASA Earth Observatory, April 14, 2025