Sand and dust storm events in Iraq

Abstract

Iraq is one of the most affected countries in the Middle East concerning the occurrences of sand and dust storms. The frequency of the occurrence has increased drastically in the last decade and it is increasing continuously. The events of sand and dust storms are either regional or local. The former, however, is more frequent than the latter. The regional event, generally extends outside the Iraqi territory, into different directions, but usually covers part of Syria, crossing the Iraqi territory towards Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and/or towards the Arabian Gulf, and less frequently extends to Iran. The main causes in the development of sand and dust storms, in Iraq are discussed. The causes are also either regional or local. The former, however, causes more economic losses and harsh effect on the human's health, as compared with the latter. One of the main reasons behind the development of sand and dust storms is the climatic changes within the region, especially the drastic decrease in the annual rate of rain fall, besides environmental changes, such as drying of the marshes, land degradation, and desertification. From the local causes, the most effective reason is the haphazard driving and military operations, especially in the Iraqi Southern Desert. Prudent management of water resources by using non-conventional resources and adapting suitable irrigation methods can greatly help to overcome this phenomenon and minimize the number of dust storm.

ROS production and gene expression in alveolar macrophages exposed to PM2.5 from Baghdad, Iraq: Seasonal trends and impact of chemical composition

“…Baghdad has suffered serious air pollution due to the lack of regulations for emissions including leaded gasoline, high sulfur fuels, extensively used diesel and gasoline-powered generators, waste burning, as well as industrial sources (IEA, 2012;Jones et al, 2012;UNEPA, 2014a;UNEPA, 2014b), which combined with the frequent dust storms (Sissakian et al, 2013;Shahsavani et al, 2012) is believed to be impacting public health in Iraq (Ala'din, 2004;Programme, U.N.E., 2005). Our previous study of the same samples focused on the water-soluble fraction of PM and showed good correlation between the water soluble organic carbon-biomass burning fraction and the ROS produced from the exposure of AM to the water soluble fraction of PM 2.5 (Hamad et al, 2015b); in that study, we have compared water soluble chemical species of PM 2.5 to the production of water soluble ROS.…”

The impact of dust storms on the Arabian Peninsula and the Red Sea

“…4b), dust was wide spread, with the same maximum dust concentration as those at 08:00 UTC. Dust and sand lift both ahead of and behind cold fronts; winds tend to be stronger behind the front than ahead of it (Sissakian et al, 2013). Behind an advancing cold front, southern Iraq and northern Saudi Arabia experienced blowing dust or shamal-like conditions (Hamidi et al, 2013).…”

A Comprehensive Case Study of a Frontal Mineral Dust Storm in spring over Iraq

“…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 [12]. MODIS satellite images between 2003 and 2011 showed that nearly 60 dust storms occurred in the Middle East.…”

“…The dust production mechanism is based on the viscous/turbulent mixing, shear-free convection diffusion, and soil moisture [11]. Dust particles are small enough to be lifted aloft by currents of turbulent air and carried into suspension [12]. Although the pressure pattern is favorable for raising dust into the atmosphere, it appears that the influx of cool air aloft adds to the effects of the strong surface heating.…”