Dust storms to hit 22 Iranian provinces on Wednesday

TEHRAN,July 11(MNA) – Dust storms originating from neighboring Arab countries will envelop 22 Iranian provinces on Wednesday, according to an official at the Tehran Municipality. In an interview with the Persian service of the Mehr News Agency on Tuesday, Mohammad Hadi Heydarzadeh also said that the capital will be affected by dust storms and Tehran’s air pollution will reach an “unhealthy” level on Wednesday. Experts say the dust storms descend on Iran from the deserts and dried-up ponds of Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Many ponds which were once located in the arid and desert regions stretching from the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea to Iran have gone dry over the years. This ongoing desertification process has greatly increased the number of dust storms in the region, and every year heavy dust storms envelope more than half of Iran. On July 6, One hundred and fifty Iranian MPs issued a statement calling on the administration to take the measures necessary to tackle the issue of dust storms which has affected many provinces in the country.