Sandstorms are sweeping across the Middle East. What's going on?

Jul 8, 2022

School children walk through a sand and dust storm

School children walk through one of the many sand and dust storms that hit parts of the Middle East this year, sending thousands of people to hospital with respiratory illnesses, in Sistan-Baluchistan province, Iran. Image: Sadegh Souri/Middle East Images

Sanam Mahoozi

Journalist, Thomson Reuters Foundation

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Boats on the Karun river blanketed in a thick haze during one of the increasingly frequent and intense sand and dust storms hitting the Middle East, in Ahvaz, Iran. Image: Madyar Shojaeifar/Middle East Images

A bridge over the Karun river is blanketed in a thick haze during one of the increasingly frequent and intense sand and dust storms hitting the Middle East, in Ahvaz, Iran. Image: Madyar Shojaeifar/Middle East Images

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