Visibility dropped to less than one kilometre (about half a mile) in central and southern Iraqi cities as a storm enveloped the region in an eerie orange haze.
Both Basra and Najaf airports were closed during the storm, which began to weaken on Tuesday morning, according to AFP photographers.
Health ministry spokesperson Saif al-Badr stated that Basra was the hardest-hit province, with over 1,000 of the 3,747 hospital admissions linked to the sandstorm.
According to the report, many residents of Basra who ventured outside wore face masks to shield themselves from the suffocating dust.
Sandstorms are a recurring issue in central and southern Iraq, but the environment ministry has warned that the country will experience an increasing number of “dust days” in the coming decades, driven by the effects of global warming.
A severe sandstorm in 2022 resulted in one death and over 5,000 people receiving hospital treatment for breathing difficulties.
