A sandstorm in central and southern Iraq has sent more than 1,800 people to hospitals with respiratory problems. In a typical spring, Iraq would see up to three storms per month, but this year at least nine major storms have descended on the country in April alone. Carolyn Beeler speaks with Nick Middleton, a physical geographer and fellow at St. Anne’s College at Oxford, about the natural and human-caused reasons for sandstorms and why they’re on the rise.