SULAIMANI (ESTA) — an intense dust storm on Monday caused Airport closure in the capital city of Baghdad.
Flights are suspended again after another extreme wave of dust storm engulfed Iraq that resulted in low visibility and halted the flights in the capital.
Iraq’s aviation authority has announced that airport flights have been suspended due to the heavy dust waves that have hit Baghdad.
“The flights will be resumed after the weather gets back to normal, visibility is reduced to less than 500 meters.” Iraq’s aviation authority said.
Since last April, several massive sandstorms have engulfed the entire country, meteorological officials say they originated due to low rainfalls, desertification, and climate change.
The Middle East has always been battered by dust and sandstorms, but they have become more frequent and intense in recent years.
The trend has been associated with the overuse of river water, more dams, overgrazing, and deforestation.
Iraq suffers an extreme drought for the third year in a row due to low rainfalls, the country is classified as one of the world’s five countries most vulnerable to climate change and desertification, and it also witnesses water shortages in many areas.
