More than 5,000 people have been hospitalised with respiratory problems across Iraq after a dust storm swept through much of the country, according to the Health Ministry.

“The hospitals throughout Iraq received more than 5,000 people suffering from respiratory problems, 2,000 of whom were registered in the capital Baghdad, in addition to one death,” Xinhua news agency quoted Sayf al-Badr, a Ministry spokesman, as saying in a statement on Friday.

The number of people hospitalised could increase, while most of the cases left the hospitals after receiving treatments, the statement added.

Iraqi meteorologist Sadiq Attia said on his Facebook page that Thursday’s dust storm, which came from eastern Syria at midnight, was now heading towards the southern desert.

Meteorologists and health officials have warned of the impact of the increasing storms on the health and lives of citizens in the absence of solutions.

The Siasat Daily