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LEVEL B1

Shadowing the newsreader

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Iraq has some ancient sites which are thousands of years old.

The area was home to the Sumerian and Babylonian people.

But now, these special places are in danger of disappearing.

Sand is quickly covering them again.

This is the ancient Sumerian site of Umm al-Aqarib.

In the past, thieves were the biggest problem but now, it's sandstorms.

Historian Aqeel al-Mansrawi explains the risk of climate change.

Iraq has been badly hit by climate change, according to the United Nations.

Temperatures in the summer months can reach 50 degrees Celsius.

Farmers have left the area and the lack of plants has made the situation worse.

In the heat, the water dries up and only salt remains.

The salt damages the ancient sites further.

One plan is to plant trees around the site to protect it.

That will cost $3.8 million, but Mansrawi believes the sandstorms are too powerful.

What's left of these ancient cultures - some 4,000 years old - is disappearing under the sand.

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