TEHRAN, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- At least 171 people were hospitalized on Saturday because of the thick dust storm in Iran's southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, official IRNA news agency reported Sunday.
"Out of 810 people affected by the respiratory issues and registered in the clinics of Sistan and Baluchestan because of the dust storm, 171 people have been hospitalized," the province's Crisis Management Center said.
Abolrahman Shahnavazi, head of the province's Crisis Management Center, told IRNA that these people also suffered from sight and heart problems because of the polluted dusty air.
"So far, 7,852 bottles of mineral water and 906 parcels of food have been distributed by the Red Crescent Society among the regional people," Shahnavazi was quoted as saying.
On Saturday, the educational centers and civil offices were closed because of the alarming levels of the dust in the cities of Zabol, Zahak, Hirmand, Hamoon and Nimrooz of the province.
Meanwhile, four flights destined for the cities of Zabol and Iranshahr in the north of Sistan and Baluchestan were cancelled.
On Aug. 13, Ali Mollashahi from Iran Meteorological Department in the province warned that dust concentration in Sistan and Baluchestan had reached the risky level to disrupt people's lives.
The concentration of fine dust in the province currently stands at 8,073 micrograms per cubic meter, significantly higher than the normal level of 150 micrograms per cubic meter, said Mollashahi.
Over the past years, Sistan and Baluchestan, along with the southwestern province of Khuzestan, has been plagued by alarming weather pollution because of the changing climate conditions.
