The Pediatric Emergency Center in Al Sadd has seen hundreds of urgent cases coming in over the last 24 hours due to the dust storm, The Peninsula reports.

Dr. Khalid Al Ansari, the center’s director, told the newspaper:

“We had 1,200 patients in the last 24 hours and at least 360 of the cases were due to asthma attack. We expect to see more cases even two to three days after the dust storm settles…”

As a precaution, he advises keeping kids indoors during the dusty weather, especially infants.

The high number of patients at the centre was also in part due to viral illnesses being passed around amidst “changing weather condition,” he said.