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More than a thousand people in Iraq’s central and southern regions have developed respiratory issues due to a severe sandstorm, with health officials reporting at least 700 cases of suffocation in Muthanna province alone. The storm created an orange haze that reduced visibility to under one kilometer, leading to airport closures in Najaf and Basra, and experts warn that such dust storms are becoming more frequent due to climate change. The Iraqi environment ministry anticipates more “dust days” in the future as the country grapples with increasing climate vulnerability.
