Iraq: Dusty night triggers 2,750 cases of suffocation

Shafaq News/ More than 2,750 cases of respiratory distress were reported across Iraq as a fierce dust storm swept through the country, hitting southern provinces the hardest, a medical source in Maysan province told Shafaq News on Sunday.

Maysan province alone saw 656 people struggle to breathe as dust choked the air, with patients flooding 12 hospitals and emergency units, a local medical source told our agency.

Health authorities in five other provinces also logged a surge in cases, pushing the total above 2,000, including 749 in Basra, 700 in Muthanna, 322 in Diwaniyah, 174 in Dhi Qar, and 150 in Najaf.

Officials warned the numbers could keep climbing as the storm continues to blanket Iraqi cities in thick dust.

Amer Al-Jabari, spokesperson for the Iraqi Meteorological Authority, urged citizens to avoid highways, citing dangerously low visibility in the south, center, and west.

Despite the heavy haze, flights at Baghdad and Basra airports remained unaffected.