Middle East
Dust in the Middle East has been a historic phenomenon. Recently, because of climate change and the escalating process of desertification, the problem has worsened dramatically. As a multi-factor phenomenon, there is not yet a clear consensus on the sources or potential solutions to the problem.
The dust in Iraq and Iran are migratory systems that move from west to east and have the highest intensity, concentration, and extent until mid-summer, then reverse and flow from east to west in the spring. The causes of their occurrence are the lack of humidity, dry environment, low rainfall, and annual droughts. Due to the decrease of rainfall in areas such as Iraq and Syria, most of the dust in Iran also originates from the regions of Iraq, Syria, and Jordan.
In addition to the foreign foci, there are areas inside the country that have either formed new dust foci in recent years or were from the past and their extent has increased. Among these areas, parts of southern Tehran, south of Alborz province – which in the past were plains, riverbeds, seasonal lakes, and seasonal reservoirs – and Gavkhoni wetland of Isfahan province can be mentioned because they have become dry and prone to dust. Among other areas that have become dust centers, Qom province, the Qom salt lake and its surroundings can be mentioned, as well as the Urmia lake, which due to strong winds and due to the dryness of the lake and the reduction of its size, some areas of its bed which were underwater in the past are subject to wind erosion.
In Iran, the dust directly affects more than 5 million people and has become a serious government issue recently. In the Khuzestan province, it has led to the severe increase of air pollution. The amount of pollutants in the air has surpassed more than 50 times the normal level several times in a year. Recently, initiatives such as Project-Dust have been established to study dust in the Middle East directly.
The continuation of drought has caused water scarcity or drying up of some wetlands and lakes such as Hamon and Urmia Lake. This has turned them into centers of dust.
Director General of the Office of Desert Affairs of Iran's Natural Resources and Watershed Organization stated that according to the data of the 2018 studies, 30 million hectares of land in the country are affected by wind erosion, and 14 million hectares of this area are considered to be the focal points of wind erosion, which causes serious damage to infrastructure.
