Exposure of Dust Storms and Air Pollution (PM10, PM2.5) and Associated Health Risk in the Arid Region

Abstract

AbstractAccording to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas are defined as areas, other than polar and sub-polar regions, in which the ratio of annual precipitation to potential evapotranspiration falls within the range from 0.05 to 0.65. Dust sources are commonly associated with topographical lows located in the arid regions with annual rainfall under 200–250 mm (Prospero et al., 2002). There are nine potential dust source regions (Arabian Peninsula, Central Asia, eastern and western China, Australia, North and South Africa, and North and South America). The Sahara desert in North Africa accounts for 58% of the total global dust emissions (Tanaka & Chiba, 2006). Numerous factors over the arid and semi-arid region, including wind regime and soil conditions, are important drivers of dust emission over the dust belt (Shi et al., 2021). The dust belt stretches from the Sahara Desert through the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, and Central Asia to the Gobi Desert of China and Mongolia. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, which neighbors the Sahara desert, is considered the dustiest region in the World (WorldBank, 2019). Out of 151 countries directly affected by sand and dust storms, 45 (23%) are classified as dust source areas, of which 85% (38 out of 45) are in Africa and Asia. The string of deserts and semi-desert areas that stretch from the Sahara and Middle East through central Asia are depicted in Fig. 4.1 (Middleton, 2020).