Sandstorm sweeps through Iraq as whole city turns an ominous dark orange

By PATRICK HARRINGTON, UK NEWS REPORTER Published: 21:48, 18 May 2026 | Updated: 21:49, 18 May 2026 A severe sandstorm has brought misery to parts of Iraq, with locals struggling to go about their lives amid emergency safety warnings. Dense dust clouds have been whipped up by strong winds in the western Anbar region, and being blown east towards the capital, Baghdad.  Sand particles have turned the air a deep, ominous orange, as revealed by striking photographs coming out of the region. Many Iraqis are scarred by the memory of previous sandstorms, which have sent thousands to hospital with respiratory problems and even killed people. The city of Najaf has been completely enveloped by the storm, and visibility in its streets is incredibly poor. Dust flying through the skies on winds of up to 60 mph have made conditions outside treacherous. Locals have been urged by the authorities to stay indoors where possible and avoid using the road. The Iraqi Meteorological Seismology Organization warned that several central and southern provinces are in the path of the storm as it rolls across the country. A severe sandstorm is rolling across Iran, shrouding large areas in a ghostly orange A solitary woman battles through the high winds and dust clouds in Najaf This collection of pictures is from Najaf, where visibility has been particularly poor Authorities have urged residents to stay indoors and to avoid using the roads Iraqis have become used to navigating sandstorms in recent years, as they become more frequent Thick clouds of dust and sand have been whipped up by strong winds in the western Anbar region and then blown across the country The growing frequency of sandstorms in the Middle East has been linked to human activity, such as overgrazing and deforestation It issued an emergency statement advising that visibility could suddenly get worse, as has happened in Najaf. The organisation said that winds were expected to decrease in speed in central and southern cities, but that much of the dust would remain suspended in the air. Iraq is often battered by seasonal sandstorms, particularly in the spring and summer months. They are made more severe by bouts of dry weather, and by the expansion of deserts due to declining rainfall. In the Middle East, they have grown more frequent and intense in recent years, a trend that has been associated with overuse of river water, more dams, overgrazing and deforestation.  At least one person died and almost 5,000 were hospitalised after a string of sandstorms hit Iraq in May 2022. The cities of Najaf and Baghdad were similarly cloaked in ghostly orange clouds of choking dust. Local Health Ministry spokesperson Seif al-Badr said at the time: 'One death has been recorded in Baghdad [and hospitals] have received no less than 5,000 cases so far.' Those hit hardest are people suffering from 'chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma', and the elderly who suffer in particular from heart ailments, he said. More than 3,700 people were hospitalised in Iraq during another sandstorm in April last year. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.