Middle East & Africa | Sand by me

Dust is a growing threat to lives in the Middle East

As a dry region gets drier, sandstorms grow more frequent

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - MAY 16: A man protects his face as dust cover the city during sandstorm in Baghdad, Iraq on May 16, 2022. Visibility degraded in traffic due to the sandstorm. (Photo by Murtadha Al-Sudani/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
|DUBAI

The sky turned orange and the hospitals turned frenetic. Thousands of Iraqis descended on emergency rooms complaining that they could not breathe. Some had to be put on respirators. Businesses told workers to stay at home, schools closed and airports cancelled flights. Life came to a halt amid a swirl of dust.

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “A harrowing haze”

The coming food catastrophe

From the May 21st 2022 edition

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