Sharjah24 - AFP: Another sandstorm has darkened Iraqi skies and it's hard to breathe, but Baghdad motorcycle delivery rider Milad Mitti doesn't have the luxury of missing a day's work.
Like most people in the now blistering hot desert country, the 30-year-old battles on in frustration, wearing goggles and a grey neck warmer over his mouth and nose "so I can breathe".
Iraq, still recovering from decades of war, is now facing new environment challenges on an unprecedented scale: since mid-April it has weathered a dozen dust storms that have often shrouded it in an otherworldly orange glow.
Thousands have been rushed to hospitals so far, and on Sunday, as has happened many times in recent weeks, airports were again forced to delay flights for hours due to the poor visibility.
Most Iraqis never bothered with face masks when the Covid pandemic was in full swing, but they do now.
"This is probably the first year that Iraq has had so many sandstorms," said Mitti in a busy square in the centre of the sprawling capital, which was baking in 40 degrees Celsius (over 100 degrees Fahrenheit) heat.
"It is very difficult to see," he said. "It's suffocating. It's hot. You have to drink juice and liquids to protect yourself."
A married man, he said he relies on the job which pays him about $600 a month.
"I have a family," he said. "I have responsibilities."
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