“The dust storm that has covered the region since yesterday is widespread throughout the Kurdistan Region and will continue tomorrow,” Luqman Mufti, a meteorology expert at the Kurdistan Region’s agriculture ministry, told Rudaw, adding that the dust is coming from the Iraqi and Syrian deserts.
According to Mufti, the number of dusty days in the Kurdistan Region “will be more frequent than in previous years, because there has been less rainfall and the rain has been insufficient.”
“During spring, the wind direction in the Kurdistan Region is from those areas that are the source of dust storms, which is why the dust storms are more frequent in spring than in other seasons,” he added.
Mufti said the dust is expected to settle after a region-wide rainfall on Saturday.
Dust storms are common in Iraq but have become more frequent and intense due to prolonged drought, desertification, and rising temperatures. According to the environment ministry, the country has been experiencing 272 dusty days per year over the past two decades. That number is projected to reach 300 by 2050.
Iraq is also among the countries most vulnerable to climate change. Poor water management and dam construction in upstream countries have drastically reduced the flow of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The United Nations has called for urgent measures to address environmental degradation and mitigate the worsening climate crisis in Iraq.