Baghdad residents report sulfur-like odors for second day
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Foul, sulfur-like odors persisted across parts of Baghdad for a second consecutive day on Tuesday, with residents, who spoke to Shafaq News, linking them to waste burning in Al-Nahrawan and near Al-Rashid Camp.
In Bismayah, southeast of the Iraqi capital, locals appealed to Environment Minister Sarwa Abd Al-Wahid and other authorities to intervene.
Iraq ranked as the world’s second most polluted country by the end of 2025 amid deteriorating air quality, poor waste management, and wider environmental pressures, according to data released in September by Switzerland-based air quality monitoring platform IQAir. Baghdad’s average Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 113 two years earlier, while Karbala, Al-Anbar, and Diyala also appeared in international rankings of highly polluted cities.
Read more: The cost of filth: Iraq among the world’s most polluted nations
Lawmaker Bassem Al-Gharabi of the Ishraqat Kanoon bloc, in February, warned of growing environmental risks to public health, citing an annual mortality rate of 15 per 100,000 people and estimating the nationwide toll at roughly 69,000 deaths.
The Federal Integrity Commission previously outlined eight measures to improve air quality in the capital, including action against unauthorized burning sites and requirements for facilities to install and maintain filtration systems.
Read more: Death in the current: Pollution decimates Iraq’s river ecosystems
