More than 1,000 people hospitalized in southeast Iran after sandstorms

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) - More than 1,000 people have been hospitalized in southeastern Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan province after strong sand and dust storms, local officials said Sunday.

Majid Mohebi, director general of the provincial crisis management department, told local media that a total of 1,047 people have been admitted to hospitals in recent days in the Sistan region.

The hospitalizations follow a new wave of sand and dust storms in the province, especially in the Sistan region's cities of Zabul, Hamoun, Hirmand and Nimroz.

The affected people have mostly been complaining of breathing difficulties and heart and eyesight issues, the official said.

Sistan-Baluchestan province, which borders Pakistan, is known for its extremely hot and dry climate which has turned the province into a dust and sand bowl.

Rising temperatures this year and a prolonged period of drought have led to the evaporation of surface water, even destroying the famed Hamoun wetlands in the province, according to experts.

Last summer, heavy sand and dust storms as well as higher levels of air pollution forced the closure of educational institutes and government offices in some Iranian cities, including the capital Tehran.

Jafar Jandaqi, director general of the environmental center at Iran's Health Ministry, was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA on Saturday that exposure to sand and dust storms puts the lives of more than 38 million people in Iran in jeopardy.

“The increase in the number of airborne particles raises the chances of heart diseases and disrupts social activities as well as the public transport system,” he said.

July 12 marks the International Day of Combating Sand and Dust Storms. In a statement this year, the UN said sand and dust storms "present a formidable and widespread challenge to achieving sustainable development in its economic, social and environmental dimensions."

It added that at least 25% of global dust emissions emanate from human activities.