More than a thousand people have been left with respiratory problems after a sandstorm swept across Iraq’s central and southern parts of the country, health officials said.

One official in Muthanna province reported to the AFP news agency at least 700 cases of what they said was suffocation.

Footage shared online showed areas cloaked in a thick orange haze, with local media reporting power cuts and the suspension of flights in a number of regions.

Dust storms are common in Iraq, but some experts believe they are becoming more frequent due to climate change.

Pedestrians and police wore face masks to protect themselves from the dust and paramedics were on site to assist people with difficulty breathing, according to AFP.

Hospitals in Muthanna province in southern Iraq received at least “700 cases of suffocation”, a local health official said.

More than 250 people were taken to hospital in Najaf province, and at least 322 patients including children were sent to hospitals in Diwaniyah province.

A further 530 people reported breathing issues in Dhi Qar and Basra provinces.

The sandstorm blanketed Iraq’s southern provinces in an orange cloud that reduced visibility to less than one kilometre (0.62 mile).

The authorities were forced to shut down airports in the provinces of Najaf and Basra.

Conditions are expected to gradually improve by Tuesday morning, according to local weather services.

Iraq is listed by the UN as one of the five countries most vulnerable to climate change as it encounters regular sandstorms, sweltering heat and water scarcity.

A severe sandstorm in 2022 left one person dead and more than 5,000 needing treatment for respiratory illnesses.

Iraq will be experiencing more “dust days” in the future, according to its environment ministry.