Navigation has returned to the airports of Iraq and Kuwait after it was temporarily suspended, Monday, due to the dust storm in the region. The storm has affected Syria and is currently extending to a number of Gulf Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE.

The dust storm disrupted the normal course of life in both Iraq and Kuwait, and the Iraqi Council of Ministers decided to suspend work in official departments on Monday, and the Baghdad International Airport administration announced in a statement the disruption of air navigation at the airport throughout the day, due to weather conditions that led to low visibility due to dust.

Also, earlier today, the administration of Sulaymaniyah and Erbil airports in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq suspended all flights due to the dust storm, and then the administration of Erbil Airport resumed flights after the storm subsided.

suffocation cases

And the French news agency reported that the storm caused more than a thousand cases of suffocation in Iraq, and on May 16, a wave of dust caused 4 thousand Iraqis to suffocate.


Baghdad residents woke up Monday to layers of dust covering their homes and cars, while visibility was low on streets and roads that were almost empty of pedestrians. First morning, it will be gone from Monday evening.

On Monday, the dust storm also hit the province of Raqqa, in northeastern Syria, which is on the border with Iraq, and clips circulated on local pages documented the strength of the storm, and the lack of visibility in some areas of Raqqa governorate, and the Syrian meteorology published a warning to residents of the areas hit by the dust storm.

In Kuwait, the General Administration of Civil Aviation announced the temporary suspension of navigation due to the dust storm in the country, and the Football Association announced the postponement of the final match of the Emir of the State Cup, which was scheduled today, due to weather conditions.

Riyadh sky

In Saudi Arabia, the second dust storm in less than a week arrived in Riyadh on Monday evening, blocking the view of the most important landmarks of the capital, including the giant Kingdom Tower. The Saudi Civil Defense warned the residents of Riyadh and its surrounding areas against the continuation of the storm and the accompanying dust and dust until at least nine in the evening on Monday.

Warning - #Riyadh_region - #Al-Kharj #Diriyah #AlDalam #CapitalRiyadh...+3

For details, https://t.co/FY8EKCY80V # Early Warning # Saudi Weather # National Meteorological Center pic.twitter.com/SES3Baq0xw

— National Center of Meteorology (NCM) (@PmeMediacen) May 23, 2022

The National Center of Meteorology in Saudi Arabia issued a warning regarding the wave of dust, and the warning extends from Monday at five and 45 minutes in the evening until tomorrow, Tuesday, at two in the morning.

In Bahrain, the Meteorological Department said that the Kingdom will be affected on Monday by a wave of dust coming from Iraq and northern Saudi Arabia.

Qatar and the Emirates

In neighboring Qatar, the Meteorological Department said on Monday that it had monitored the approach of the dust mass to the country's atmosphere, and it is expected to be affected by it at the end of the night and lead to the rise of dust and a decrease in the horizontal visibility to less than two kilometers, and sometimes its absence.

pic.twitter.com/tiKKCoSRBA

— National Center of Meteorology (@NCMS_media) May 23, 2022

In the UAE, the National Center of Meteorology said that the eastern coast of the country will be affected by the dust wave, but the impact will be little due to the dispersal of dust in the sea.

Dust storms have become a recurring phenomenon at an increasing pace in Iraq in the past two months, with their occurrence almost weekly. Experts attribute them to climate change, lack of rain and desertification. Iraq is one of the five countries most vulnerable to climate change and desertification in the world, especially due to the increasing drought with high temperatures that exceed days From the summer 50 degrees Celsius.