Shafaq News / The Iraqi Ministry of health recorded 1000 cases of asphyxia due to the dust storm that hit the country on Tuesday.

The Ministry's spokesman, Saif al-Badr, said that the cases were registered in different Iraqi governorates, including the capital Baghdad.

The patients received the required medical treatment and no deaths were reported, al-Badr confirmed.

Dust storms have increased dramatically in frequency in Iraq in recent years, driven by soil degradation and intense droughts made worse by climate change, with rising average temperatures and sharply lower rainfall.