in the uae, some of the worst flaring is hidden away from the public on rigs out at sea. across the gulf from iran and iraq to kuwait we will reveal how the health of millions is being put at risk by the toxic flares. coughing samira is one of the 20 million people walking as part of the annual shia pilgrimage of arba in, which starts in basra, southern iraq. this part of the 700km route is highly polluted, as it crosses through areas just metres from gas flares, including the town where samira lives. in 2022, our bbc arabic investigation exposed how oil giants toxic air pollution puts children living next to the flares at risk of cancer. now we re investigating how this almost entirely avoidable pollution spreads across the region, and how it impacts people s health hundreds of kilometres away. volunteer nurses on the arba in route say that many pilgrims are reporting health issues. the biggest source of flaring here is from a giant oil field called rumaila, managed b