UN World Meteorological Organisation Ready to Help Eliminate Damage Caused by Fires in Iraq

The UN World Meteorological Organisation /WMO/ is ready to launch a programme to eliminate damage caused by fires in Iraq's oil reservoirs and wells, Head of an WMO Department Eduard Saruhanyan said on Wednesday.

He is attending a meeting between heads of national hydro-meteorological services of Central Asian countries held in Alma-Ata.

Meteorologists believe that the war is affecting the entire region east of Iraq and may badly affect the atmosphere. The war is already beginning to tell on Iraq's microclimate, Saruhanyan said. Namely, sandstorms were accompanied by heavy showers, which significantly reduced visibility.

There is a risk of a green-house effect caused by combustion products, which may spread all over the region, the Head of a WMO Department said.

During the Desert Storm campaign, it took six months for the air contaminated with oil combustion products to purify, the Kazakhstan Today news agency quotes Saruhanyan as saying.