Baghdad restores flights after heavy fog

Shafaq News – Baghdad (Updated at 12:26 a.m.)

Baghdad International Airport resumed flight operations on Thursday after the dense fog that settled over the capital since last night began to clear.

A source told Shafaq News that authorities reinstated arrivals and departures once conditions improved, after the airport had earlier extended its suspension until 12:00 p.m. local time when visibility dropped to nearly 400 meters.

The disruption followed a series of storm systems that have swept Iraq in recent weeks—from Nineveh to the Kurdistan Region and into central and southern provinces—causing floods, road closures, casualties, and temporary shutdowns of water facilities.

By early Thursday, heavy fog had already stalled traffic nationwide. Shafaq News correspondent reported that visibility in parts of Baghdad, Diyala, and other regions fell to only a few meters, forcing drivers on highways and city roads to pull over or proceed at extremely low speeds.

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Weather observer Sadiq Atiya described a new low-pressure system advancing from the Levant, with a cold front expected to take effect early Thursday. Atiya said the system will deepen on Friday, producing widespread rain and brief thunderstorms before weakening late that night. Its impact is expected to persist into Saturday in northern and parts of eastern Iraq, followed by gradual improvement, lower temperatures, and northwesterly winds driven by a high-pressure system over northern Turkiye.