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A6 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 17 May 2022
Iraqi merchants struggle on amid series of strong sandstorms

By SAMYA KULLAB Iraqi government and
Associated Press poor water management
BAGHDAD (AP) — The thick policies for the increase in
layer of dust blanketing sandstorms. The phenom-
the sky did not deter Mu- enon is expected to be-
hammed Ghalib from walk- come more frequent amid
ing to work in Baghdad’s record-low rainfall and ris-
main commercial district ing summer temperatures.
on Monday, as the latest Abu Dalal, a cashier at a
in an unrelenting series of restaurant in the Karada
intense sandstorms swept neighborhood of Bagh-
Iraq. dad, blamed the govern-
The dust coated his eye- ment for not prioritizing
lashes a shade of orange. green spaces around the
He arrived at 4 a.m., the capital to capture the sea-
height of the storm, and sat sonal dust waves.
outside his stall by the street Essa Fayadh, a senior En-
to sell household goods in vironment Ministry official,
the capital’s Shorja market. said the government strug-
“Life goes on,” he said. gles to address desertifica-
Ghalib was among the tion across vast swathes
merchants in the capital of agricultural land due to
who did not heed public A street vendor waits for customers during a sandstorm in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, May 16, 2022. declining water reserves,
Associated Press
warnings Monday to stay which are down 50% from
indoors because of poor Iraq’s Health Ministry, which ed in the village of Al-Harijia day a public holiday owing last year. The Iraqi govern-
weather conditions, la- declared a state of emer- north of Deir el-Zour. to the severity of the dust ment has blamed dam
menting financial losses gency. Dust storms are a season- storm. projects in Turkey and Iran
and hardship amid ongo- Monday’s sandstorm killed al occurrence in Iraq but In the last major sandstorm for limiting river flows into
ing economic woes. The two people in neighboring their frequency this year on May 5, one person died Iraq.
Health Ministry said there Syria’s eastern province of has alarmed experts who in Iraq and 5,000 people “We had to prioritize food
were at least 1,700 cases Deir el-Zour along the bor- blame drought, rapid de- were admitted to hospi- security with the resources
of severe respiratory com- der with Iraq, according to sertification and climate tals, the Health Ministry we have,” he said.
plaints in Baghdad on Mon- official news agency SANA. change. said. Ministry spokesman In the capital, Iraqis are
day because of the storm. The agency said hundreds On Monday, Baghdad Saif al-Badr said Monday learning to adapt under
There have been at least of people were taken to Gov. Mohammed Jaber that Iraq’s medical facilities a sepia sky. Many on the
eight sandstorms in Iraq hospitals after suffering al-Atta suspended working were on alert. street wore surgical masks.
since April, according to breathing problems, add- hours in the province, with Flights were suspended at “We have no choice,”
officials. They have landed ing that the dead were a all departments excluding Baghdad, Najaf and Su- Ghalib said, beating the
thousands of Iraqis in hospi- father and his son in Deir the Health Ministry tempo- laimaniyah airports due to dust from the dish cloths
tals with severe breathing el-Zour. rarily closed. The provinces low visibility. hanging outside his stall. A
difficulties and at least one Sham FM radio reported of Wasit, Diwaniyah and Climate activists have few minutes later, he does
person died, according to that a young man suffocat- Babil also declared Mon- blamed inaction by the it again. q

New Zealand to help pay for cleaner cars to reduce emissions

By NICK PERRY families to scrap their old The government said it nation made under the lion New Zealand dollar
Associated Press gas guzzlers and replace plans to spend 569 million 2016 Paris Agreement on ($2.8 billion) climate emer-
WELLINGTON, New Zealand them with cleaner hybrid New Zealand dollars ($357 climate change and New gency response fund. Of-
(AP) — New Zealand’s gov- or electric cars as part of a million) on the trial program Zealand’s stated goal of ficials said that over time,
ernment said Monday it will sweeping plan to reduce as part of a larger plan achieving net-zero carbon money collected from pol-
help pay for lower-income greenhouse gas emissions. that includes subsidies for emissions by 2050. luters would pay for the
businesses to reduce emis- Ardern, who was sched- programs rather than taxes
sions, a switch to an entirely uled to launch the plan but from households.
green bus fleet by 2035 and cancelled after testing pos- But the plan remained short
curbside food-waste col- itive for COVID-19 late last on some details, includ-
lection for most homes by week, said every communi- ing for the gas guzzler re-
the end of the decade. ty and sector had a role to placement plan which the
“This is a landmark day in play and that reducing re- government said would be
our transition to a low emis- liance on fossil fuels would finalized over the coming
sions future,” Prime Minister help shield households from months.
Jacinda Ardern said in a volatile price hikes. And some critics said it
statement. “We’ve all seen The plan also sets a tar- continued to give an easy
the recent reports on sea get of reducing total car ride to the nation’s huge
level rise and its impact travel by 20% over the next agriculture industry, which
right here in New Zealand. 13 years by offering better creates about half of the
We cannot leave the issue transportation options in nation’s total greenhouse
of climate change until it’s cities as well as improved gas emissions but is also vi-
Electric vehicle charging station and car share parking are seen too late to fix.” options for cyclists and tal to the economy as the
in Auckland, New Zealand, on Aug. 12, 2021. The plan represents a step walkers. The programs will nation’s biggest export
Associated Press toward the pledges the be paid for from a 4.5 bil- earner.q