Iraq has about two major dust storms a month, with the typical event involving dust and sand whipped up and driven across the landscape by winds that reach 60 miles per hour. A paper published in 20, reported that iraq witnessed 122 dust storms and 283 dusty days in one year. Surface roughness in turn was correlated with geomorphology or soil properties for kuwait, iraq, part of syria, saudi arabia, the united arab emirates and oman. According to news reports, many iraqis considered the storm to be the worst in living memory. This file contains additional information such as exif metadata which may have been added by the digital camera, scanner, or software program used to create or digitize it.
Iraq is considered as one of the regions most vulner able countries to climate changes, and it faces a unique set of environmental degradation and increasing frequen cy and intensity of extreme weather events, especially sand and dust storms sds. The frequency of the occurrence has increased drastically in the last decade and it is increasing continuously. Dust storms are caused by extreme drought, overgrazing of pastures, cutting down of trees and shrubs, and improper agricultural practices. This is largely due to the lack of attention to preservation and protection of the environment, as well as the destruction of renewable natural resources. For 68% of the shamal dust storms, a high pressure.
Sources of origin and their temporal characteristics. Dust storm simulation over iran using hysplit springerlink. Blowing winds are the main factor in moving soil particles 1. A massive dust storm cloud is close to enveloping a military camp as it rolls over al asad, iraq, just before nightfall on april 27, 2005. The 2020 middle east storms happened on 12 march 2020 and following days, bringing heavy rain, thunderstorms, floods, and sandstorms, to northern egypt, israel, lebanon, jordan, syria, and iraq. Dust storms in iran, northeastern iraq and syria, the persian gulf and southern arabian peninsula are more frequent in summer. I think better night time satellite imagery would help to forecast shamal dust events better. The former, however, causes more economic losses and harsh effect on the humans health, as compared with the latter. Pdf analysis of synoptic situation for dust storms in iraq.
Camp victory, iraq it gets in the hair, eyes and even the lungs. A highvoltage energyharvesting interface for irregular kinetic energy harvesting in iot systems with 65% improvement using allnmos power switches and ultralow quiescent current controller. Side event the challenge of sand and dust storms in the. Side event the challenge of sand and dust storms in the near. Turkey does not have hotspots but has significantly contributed to the formation of dust sources in iraq and syria through unrestrained dam. Here we see a massive cloud of dust swirling through the. Nov 16, 2004 the dust storm that enveloped baghdad for three days was not unusual.
Global assessment of sand and dust storms world environment. And as i explain in this post, there is something you need to do right now. Baghdad lies in the center of iraq along the tigris river. If you served in iraq or afghanistan, there is no doubt that you were exposed to particulate matter from the burn pits. Extra time cleaning and protecting equipment is necessary. The former, however, is more frequent than the latter. Dust storm is a kind of severe environmental issues.
They can occur at any time but are most frequent in southern spring and summer, when mars is passing closest to the sun and surface temperatures are at their highest. In the northern city of kirkuk, the diurnal winter temperature ranges from 4c to 15c, while the summer range is from 27c to 44c. Central iraq to witness dust storms, sunday iraqi news. What is a dust storm and what are the symptoms following exposure. Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface. Airborne hazards exposure and respiratory health of iraq.
Dust storms in the region can be grouped into two main categories, i. To the south of iraq is the great arabian desert, a source of heat and dust. May 22, 2011 i took the video, composed and performed the soundtrack with instruments such as. The mediterranean ocean lies to the west, a source of moisture and moderate temperatures. They can occur at any time but are most frequent in southern spring and summer, when mars is passing closest to the sun and surface temperatures are. The impact of dust and sandstorms in increasing drought areas in. You can receive climatologically data from the 14th weather squadron, formally known as the air force combat climatology center. Jun 24, 2016 dust storms are caused by extreme drought, overgrazing of pastures, cutting down of trees and shrubs, and improper agricultural practices.
This phenomenon has caused a lot of environmental problems. The study relies on the idea of extracting different concentrations for dust storm by using the variations spectral reflectance within the dust cloud so that it can distinguish the airborne dust. Monitoring dust storms in iraq using satellite data ncbi. Age is from the airborne hazards and open burn pit registry data at the time of questionnaire completion. Territorial disputes with iran led to an inconclusive and costly eightyear. The effect of dust storms on some meteorological elements. The ministry of environment, in iraq recorded 122 dust storms and 283 dusty days, and sources suggest that within the next ten years iraq could witness 300 dusty days and dust storms per year 1. Veterans may file a claim for disability compensation for health problems they believe are related to sand, dust and particulate exposure during military service.
The storm system, a large severe cyclone, formed over the nile delta and around on 12 march 2020 and over the next days moved northeast over the middle east. Irans dust storms, particulates sources the media express. Iraq is one of the most affected countries in the middle east concerning the occurrences of sand and dust storms. Five dust storms that occurred in 2008 15 march, 11 april, 28 april, 25, may and 26 june in addition to the many sand dunes disseminated in the western desert of iraq are sampled. A large dust storm was blowing over and obscuring the tigris and euphrates rivers when this image was acquired on february 9, 2006. Approximately 75% of the territory was covered by a dust storm in 5 july 2009 due to strong and dry northwesterly winds. Report on data from the airborne hazards and open burn pit.
Hundreds of people reported to the hospital for respiratory distress, and the blowing dust interfered with air and land travel for nearly a week. Though dust storms are not uncommon in the middle east. Baghdad the general bureau of weather forecast and seismology predicted that the central region of iraq will witness dust storms tomorrow, sunday. Estimating pm10 concentrations from dust storms in iraq. With respect to the types of exposures of concern, approximately 120,000 military personnel returning from iraq who completed the postdeployment health reassessment survey between september 2005 and august 2006 listed their top 5 exposures of concern as sand and dust storms, loud noises, smoke from burning trash, vehicle exhaust, and. Pdf download for the impact of dust and sandstorms in increasing. A model for the emission of pm 10 dust has been constructed using the concept of a threshold friction velocity which is dependent on surface roughness. Rainfall in the mountains varies by location, but ranges from 400 mm to more than 1,000 mm, falling mostly between november and march. Doctor to release findings on toxic dust from iraq. Proceeding of the 1st conference on dust storms and their environmental effects, 1718 oct.
Sensors free fulltext monitoring dust storms in iraq. Washington titanium and other metals found in dust at a base in iraq have been linked to the dust found in six sick soldiers lungs. The dust storm that enveloped baghdad for three days was not unusual. Jul 02, 2016 sand and dust storms sds appears to be growing in number and severity in iran over the past several decades. Very little public information was available throughout 2010 on this threat, despite the groups primary backdoor gaining some level of prominence in targeted asian attacks. Dust storms are a serious problem in most parts of iran, an arid country that employs some outdated agricultural practices. A paper published in 20, reported that iraq witnessed 122 dust storms and 283 dusty days in one year and suggested that the country could witness 300 dusty. The dirt behind iraqs dust storms article the united. Risk warning and crisis management for dust storm effects. It appears low pressure at the surface in northern iraq sunday initially kicked off the dust storm, said senior. Massive dust and sand storm hits middle east, sending. Synoptic systems, associated with the two categories, are distinguished and the frequency of the patterns is identified.
Analysis of the climatology and transport pathways of iraq dust. Sand and dust storms sds appears to be growing in number and severity in iran over the past several decades. Currently, we do not have the information to determine the service status of the data unavailable group. Fine particles are transported by saltation and suspension, a process that moves soil from one place and deposits it in another. Much of iraqs fertile lands have been literally blown away as desertification intensifies.
The main causes in the development of sand and dust storms, in iraq are discussed. A terrible dust storm raged through iraq in the first week of july 2009. Sudan, iraq, saudi arabia and the persian gulf, are the regions that reported the greatest occurrence of dust storms. As for haboobs being able to better forecast where thunderstorms will occur is the only improvement to finding possible areas where haboobs may occur.
According to the new york times and the website terradaily, reduced visibility slowed traffic to a crawl among those determined to brave the storm while many commuters stayed home. Afghanistan dust storm 10 dust storms as seen from space. Dust storms can occur when strong winds fill the air with small dust particles less than 60 microns clouding the air over a large area. May 19, 2012 baghdad the general bureau of weather forecast and seismology predicted that the central region of iraq will witness dust storms tomorrow, sunday. Areas that are prone to dust storms can also prevent people from using certain equipment. Here we study the relation between drought events in iraq and dust storms in swi between. The study relies on the idea of extracting different concentrations for dust storm by using the variations spectral reflectance within the dust cloud so that it can distinguish the airborne dust from the land features which is normally drought land. The aim of this study is to discuss the types of sand and dust storms in iraq, their regional and local exten. In four of the selected cases, the dust plumes reached the northeastern to eastern part of iran and affected the caspian sea region. A republic was proclaimed in 1958, but in actuality a series of strongmen ruled the country until 2003. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details such as the timestamp may not fully reflect those of the original file. Surface roughness in turn was correlated with geomorphology or soil properties for kuwait, iraq, part of syria, saudi arabia, the. The events of sand and dust storms are either regional or local.
Environmental problems affecting health original paper indoor and built environment indoor built. New research links iraq dust to ill soldiers usa today. I took the video, composed and performed the soundtrack with instruments such as. Impacts of increased dust concentration and dust storms. Pdf iraq is one of the most affected countries in the middle east concerning the occurrences of sand and dust storms. Population and administrative division despite being the smallest governorate, baghdad has the largest population of all iraqi governorates and is also the location of iraqs capital, baghdad, the most populous city of the country. The terrible storms can last for days, with dust seeping through tightly sealed doors and windows and into vehicles and buildings. The aim of this study is to discuss the types of sand and dust storms in iraq, their regional and local exten figure 1.
Pdf sand and dust storm events in iraq researchgate. In iraq, the ministry of environment recorded 122 dust. Estimating pm 10 air concentrations from dust storms in. An analysis of a dust storm impacting operation iraqi freedom, 2527 march 2003. Recently, the amount of dust coming from arabian countries has dramatically increased, especially dust storms that are affecting western and even central parts of iran. Dust from storms can be carried by winds hundreds to thousands of miles and can reach elevations of 10,000 feet. A thesis submitted to the university of manchester for the degree of.
Analysis of dust storms using satellite imagery and. Very little public information was available throughout 2010 on this threat, despite the groups primary backdoor gaining some level of prominence in targeted. It piles up quickly on everything in sight, and it can even have an effect on daytoday operations. The iraqi government recorded 122 dust storms and 283 dusty days in a.
The analysis of the modis satellite images shows that the dust storms from the tigris. A massive dust and sand storm swept over northern saudi arabia, syria, parts of jordan and much of iraq on october 29, 2017, significantly reducing visibility and sending a large number of people to hospitals in kurdistan regions capital city of erbil iraq, the visibility was. Sand and dust storms successful story from iraq mgm. Doctor to release findings on toxic dust from iraq cbs news. In meteorology, dust storm is a catastrophic atmospheric phenomenon that strong, violent wind picks up and transport grains of fine particles like dust and silt from the ground, making the air hazy and restricting the horizontal visibility to less than 1 km. Annual mean frequency distribution of dust storms using four indicators. The worse dust storm that occurred in iraq in 11 april, 2008 covered 75% of the iraq area and deposited 6. Analysis of dust storms using satellite imagery and surface observation on iraq hussain zaydan ali1, saad h. Synoptic analysis of dust storms in the middle east. Synoptic analysis of 35 july 2009 severe dust storm in iraq ijsrp. A model for the emission of pm10 dust has been constructed using the concept of a threshold friction velocity which is dependent on surface roughness. The rest of 48 dust storms were just spread over iraq and a smaller part of iran. Dust storms are a common occurrence in afghanistan, where during the summer residents endure as much as six days a month of blowing dust.
1579 1490 367 503 1094 255 1086 1279 1320 1435 893 1116 828 809 1191 1297 65 130 940 502 143 299 218 285 754 47 511 654 515 1011