ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Dust storms are set to engulf Erbil more frequently and with greater intensity this year, a researcher warned on Monday, as Iraq faces accelerating desertification after a dry winter season.
“This year, dust storm waves in the Kurdistan Region, especially in Erbil, will be more frequent compared to previous years. This is because Erbil is located on the dust storm path between Iraq and the southwestern Mediterranean Sea,” Rebin Samad, head of the surveying department at Erbil Polytechnic University, told Rudaw.
Samad explained that reduced rainfall this year has given way to nine dust storms in Erbil so far. “More intense waves are predicted,” he added.
On Monday, health officials told Rudaw that nearly 550 people had been hospitalized across Iraq in a single day as a severe dust storm swept through multiple provinces, causing widespread respiratory problems.
Earlier in the day, Amer al-Jabri, spokesperson for Iraq’s meteorology and seismology directorate, said the storm was strongest in Iraq’s central and western areas, with a lower impact expected in the north. Wind speeds were reported between 30 and 50 kilometers per hour, reducing visibility to as low as four kilometers.
In Kirkuk alone, the number of hospitalizations doubled on Tuesday to more than 200.
"There are two types of dust storms. One is an intense wave that covers Erbil, like what has been recorded these days. The other type is just dust settling rather than direct exposure to the wave, which causes less damage and has fewer negative effects,” Samad explained.
According to his research findings, the most impacted neighborhoods lie in the south and west of Erbil, particularly those between the Kirkuk-Erbil and Mosul-Erbil roads. Samad recommended that an Erbil green belt initiative be prioritized in the southern part of the city, where the risk and damage are greatest.
Samad explained that Iraq's weather is influenced by patterns in the northwestern Mediterranean, and Erbil acts as a corridor for dust waves moving through Iraq, making central Erbil particularly vulnerable.
He further lamented that 41 percent of Iraq is now desert, and climate change is worsening the situation. A drop in rainfall and vegetation has caused a yearly decline in the number of date palms, further intensifying dust storm conditions.
With desertification increasingly taking its toll on Iraq, the researcher warned that agricultural land and inhabited areas could soon be threatened unless urgent climate measures are undertaken.
Dust storms are a familiar seasonal challenge in Iraq, but their frequency and intensity have worsened due to long-term drought, expanding desertification, and rising temperatures.
In mid-April, over 3,700 people were admitted to hospitals across the country due to breathing difficulties caused by dust storms.
The United Nations has urged immediate action to tackle Iraq’s environmental deterioration.
According to the environment ministry, Iraq has recorded an average of 272 dusty days annually over the last two decades. That figure could rise to 300 days per year by 2050 if current trends continue.
Iraq is considered among the countries most vulnerable to climate change, with poor water resource management and upstream dam projects in neighboring countries further decreasing the flow of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
Nwenar Fatih contributed to this report.
