Abstract
Sand and dust storms (SDS) play an integral role in the Earth system but they also present a range of hazards to the environmental and economic sustainability of human society. These hazards are of considerable importance for residents of dryland environments and also affect people beyond drylands because wind erosion can occur in most environments and desert dust events often involve long-range transport over great distances (>1000 km). This paper makes an assessment of the scale of SDS impacts by totalling the countries affected using an appraisal of peer-reviewed published sources, arriving at a conservative estimate that 77% of all parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) are affected directly by SDS issues. We then present a synthesis of the environmental management techniques designed to mitigate SDS hazards for disaster risk reduction and review policy measures, both historical and contemporary, for SDS impact mitigation. Although many SDS hazards are well-known, the processes involved and their impacts are not all equally well-understood. Policies designed to mitigate the impacts of wind erosion in agricultural areas have been developed in certain parts of the world but policies designed to mitigate the wider impacts of SDS, including many that are transboundary, are geographically patchy and have a much shorter history. Further development and wider implementation of such policies is advocated because of the recent marked increase in wind erosion and associated dust storms in several parts of the world.
Highlights
Sand and dust storms (SDS) are atmospheric events created when small particles are blown from land surfaces
Other common forms of economic disruption include closure of transport services and cleaning of roads, houses and business premises. These hazards are of considerable importance for the residents of drylands but their significance is further magnified because desert dust events frequently involve long-range transport over thousands of kilometers, often taking fine particles far beyond dryland environments
Mitigating the impacts of SDS is a central theme of such policy measures and the purpose of this paper is to review the range of actions available to mitigate the numerous impacts of SDS, to highlight areas of uncertainty and to consider some of the research priorities for the future
Summary
Sand and dust storms (SDS) are atmospheric events created when small particles are blown from land surfaces. SDS play an integral role in the Earth system, with impacts that are numerous and wideranging [1,2] These include effects on air chemistry and climate processes, soil characteristics and water quality, nutrient dynamics and biogeochemical cycling in both oceanic and terrestrial environments. Other common forms of economic disruption include closure of transport services and cleaning of roads, houses and business premises These hazards are of considerable importance for the residents of drylands but their significance is further magnified because desert dust events frequently involve long-range transport over thousands of kilometers, often taking fine particles far beyond dryland environments. Mitigating the impacts of SDS is a central theme of such policy measures and the purpose of this paper is to review the range of actions available to mitigate the numerous impacts of SDS, to highlight areas of uncertainty and to consider some of the research priorities for the future
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