Iraq burns: Dust, drought ravage the nation's core
Shafaq News
At dawn in Baghdad, the first thing many residents notice isn’t the warmth of the sunrise but the taste of the air — a faint bitterness settling on balconies, market stalls, and palm-lined streets where early commuters gather.
These mornings reveal how rapidly the city’s natural rhythms have shifted: less birdsong, more dust; fewer patches of green, and more concrete rising in every direction. Once shaped by rivers and orchards, Iraq’s environment is visibly transforming — a daily indication that something profound is changing beneath ordinary life.
Baghdad is no stranger to crises, yet the environmental decline sweeping its streets has reached alarming levels. Annual average PM2.5 concentrations now exceed 70–80 µg/m³ — nearly 14 times the World Health Organization’s safe limit. Iraqi monitoring stations and international climate observatories have consistently ranked Baghdad among the top 20 most polluted cities globally, and during sandstorm seasons, sometimes among the top five.
Breathing the Bill
The effects extend beyond hazy skies as public health, quality of life, and long-term economic prospects are all threatened by environmental decline. In 2024, the Ministry of Health reported that respiratory illnesses accounted for nearly 18% of clinic visits during peak pollution months, while the World Bank estimated that environmental degradation costs Iraq over $4–5 billion annually in lost productivity, healthcare burdens, and climate-related disruptions.
Government measures have targeted industrial waste and hazardous emissions, yet environmental specialists caution that limited technical capacity and uneven monitoring hinder progress.
Among those raising alarms, the Green Iraq Observatory, a team tracking environmental conditions across the country, reports stark findings: shrinking green belts, unplanned construction, and rising air contamination have collectively eroded quality of life in Iraqi cities.
The Observatory also noted that Baghdad has lost nearly 40% of its green cover since 2000, a decline accelerated by record-breaking heat waves and years of insufficient urban planning.
Environmental researcher Omar Abdul-Latif explained to Shafaq News that key pollutants — nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide — are now widespread in the urban atmosphere. Readings from eastern Baghdad indicate NO₂ levels nearly double the global urban average, while SO₂ frequently exceeds Iraq’s own thresholds.
Short-term exposure causes nausea and discomfort, while prolonged exposure contributes to cardiovascular complications, reflected in a 15% increase in ischemic heart cases over the past decade.
Warning that acid rain, a byproduct of these emissions, is degrading soil chemistry and undermining vegetation, he noted the strains Iraq faces under rapidly intensifying climate change, pointing that last year alone, the country experienced more than 100 days of dust storms — a record unmatched in its modern meteorological history.
Read more: The air we breathe: How pollution is quietly rewriting Iraq’s future
Rivers Run Low
Officials in the Ministry of Environment acknowledge the crisis. Climate shifts have reduced river flows, worsened drought, and increased dependence on water sources controlled by neighboring countries. Iraq’s share of the Tigris and Euphrates has fallen nearly 30% since 2000, with projections suggesting a 50% drop by 2035 if current water policies persist.
Loay al-Mukhtar, the ministry’s spokesperson, told Shafaq News that a national strategy is essential to improve water efficiency, modernize irrigation, expand treatment infrastructure, and ensure sustainable resource use. Such measures are crucial for addressing acute shortages and enhancing water quality, particularly as per-capita water availability has declined from 2,100 cubic meters in 1977 to under 400 cubic meters today — among the lowest levels in the region.
Environmental experts are also monitoring rapid urban expansion. Ecologist Iqbal Latif Jaber observed to Shafaq News that rural migration and unregulated city growth are shrinking green spaces. Between 2000 and 2020, Iraq’s urban population rose from 66% to over 71%, adding six million city dwellers.
As fields give way to concrete, carbon emissions rise, waste accumulates, and chemical residues increase. The result is a fragmented urban ecosystem where soil becomes contaminated, natural streams disappear, and biodiversity that once supported city life quietly diminishes.
Official records illustrate the scale of the shift: Iraq has lost nearly 30% of its productive agricultural land over the past three decades due to climate pressures and prolonged drought, with the last four years marking some of the most severe water shortages in modern history. Rural provinces such as Nineveh, Babil, and Diyala have reported crop yield reductions of 40–70%, intensifying economic pressures and accelerating migration to already strained cities.
In response, the Ministry of Environment has conducted inspections targeting facilities responsible for hazardous waste. These measures include reassessing permits, tightening oversight, upgrading containment systems, and deploying digital tools to track waste disposal in real time.
The objective is to limit contamination from industrial and oil-sector byproducts. Iraq produces 31 million tons of solid waste annually, including millions from oil operations, yet only a fraction is treated with modern systems. Experts warn that outdated technology and weak supervision allow some facilities to operate without proper control.
Read more: Green turning grey: Inside Iraq's accelerating desertification
Planting Hope Now
According to the Green Iraq Observatory, the path forward lies in transforming Iraq's environmental trajectory rather than merely managing decline. The organization stresses the need for a comprehensive green-development strategy that reduces carbon reliance and restores degraded landscapes.
Such a plan would involve large-scale ecological restoration, including a national initiative to plant fifteen billion trees — a project designed to combat desertification, cool urban environments, and improve air quality. Equally critical, the Observatory noted, is strengthening water governance, enforcing industrial compliance, and restoring green cover across Iraq’s densely populated cities.
Written and edited by Shafaq News staff.
