A dust storm hit Baghdad, Iraq, on May 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)
BAGHDAD, May 5 (Xinhua) -- A dust storm swept through much of Iraq on Thursday leaving one dead and more than 5,000 people in hospital with respiratory problems, according to the Health Ministry.
"The hospitals throughout Iraq received more than 5,000 people suffering from respiratory problems, 2,000 of whom were registered in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, in addition to one death," Sayf al-Badr, spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Health, said in a statement.
An Iraqi patient receives medical treatment at a hospital in Baghdad, Iraq, on May 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)
The number of people hospitalized could increase, while most of the cases left the hospitals after receiving treatments, the statement added.
Iraqi meteorologist Sadiq Attia said on his Facebook page that Thursday's dust storm, which came from eastern Syria at midnight, would abate within the next few hours in Baghdad, and it is now heading towards the southern desert.
Iraqi meteorologists and health officials have warned of the impact of the increasing storms on the health and lives of citizens in the absence of solutions.
A dust storm hit Baghdad, Iraq, on May 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)■