Sandstorm suspends education in Iraq

A view of the park amid yellow dust during a sandstorm in Najaf, Iraq on 20 April 2022 [Karar Essa/Anadolu Agency]

Classes at schools in Iraq were suspended for one day due to a heavy sandstorm, the Education Ministry said Monday, and Anadolu News Agency reports.

The Ministry said in a statement that the heavy sandstorm, which started in the morning in many cities, including the capital, Baghdad, negatively affected life. Dozens of people at risk of suffocation were hospitalised.

On 5 May, one person died and more than 5,000 needed treatment for breathing problems after a powerful sandstorm swept through the country.

READ: Who’s responsible for covering Iraq with red dust?

Unless otherwise stated in the article above, this work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. If the image(s) bear our credit, this license also applies to them. What does that mean? For other permissions, please contact us.