May 20, 2022
Not just in Iran, but also widely across the Middle East, sandstorms are delaying flights, closing schools and hospitalizing thousands—a phenomenon experts say could worsen as climate change warps regional weather patterns.
Saudi Arabia became the latest country blanketed with dust May 17 that slowed traffic and made iconic towers in the capital difficult to see from more than a few hundred meters away.
Other countries have been grappling with the problem for longer: Neighboring Iraq has experienced eight sandstorms since mid-April, fueled by soil degradation, intense droughts and low rainfall linked to climate change.
Iraq’s latest sandstorm hit May 16, enveloping Baghdad in an orange glow and sending at least 4,000 people to hospitals with breathing problems. Airports, schools and public offices were closed all across the country.
Iran announced that it was closing government offices as well as schools May 17, citing “unhealthy weather” conditions and sandstorms. Tehran often closes schools for air pollution alerts, but this was the first time government offices were shut down.
The finest and most hazardous particulate matter (PM2.5) was at 163 micrograms per cubic meter that day in Tehran, according to a government website. That is more than six times the World Health Organization’s safe level of 25 micrograms per cubic meter.
Schools were also closed in seven western provinces, where some cities recorded readings of the larger PM10 particulate matter at 67 times the WHO safety standard.
In Kuwait, air traffic at the main airport was suspended for an hour and a half due to a dust storm May 16, and marine traffic in all three ports remained suspended as of the next afternoon. Kuwait’s Ministry of Education said classes were suspended that day.
The Middle East has always been battered by dust and sandstorms, but they have become more frequent and intense in recent years. The trend is associated with overgrazing and deforestation, overuse of river water and more dams.