UN report: Sand storms are increasingly harmful to the health of the world and its economies

The annual bulletin of the air dust, issued today, Thursday, by the World Meteorological Organization, highlighted the hot foci of sandy and dirt storms, and revealed that about 330 million people in more than 150 countries around the world are affected by it.

Every year, about 2,000 million tons of sand and dust enter the atmosphere – equivalent to 307 times the great pyramids of Giza. More than 80% of the total global dust arises from the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East, and can be transmitted for hundreds, but thousands of kilometers, through continents and oceans.

Most of this process is normal, but the World Meteorological Organization indicated that poor water and land management, drought, and environmental degradation are increasingly responsible for this process.

In a statement, the Secretary -General of the World Meteorological Organization, Celeste Soolo, said: “Sand and dust storms are not limited to dirty windows and blurry sky, but rather harm the health of millions of people and the quality of their lives, and cost millions of dollars by disrupting air and land transport, agriculture, and solar energy production.”

Ms. Solo said that the report shows how health risks and economic costs result in these storms increasing “How can investments in early warnings of dust and mitigate and control its effects are to achieve large returns. For this reason, sandy and dirt storms are one of the priorities of the initiative of early warnings for all.”

Geographical distribution

Although the annual global average of surface dust concentrations in 2024 was little less than it was in 2023, there are great regional differences. In the most affected areas, the surface dust concentration was higher than a long-term medium for the period 1981-2010.

According to the report, the most vulnerable regions of dust transmission were long distances: northern the tropical Atlantic Ocean between West Africa and the Caribbean Sea region, South America, the Mediterranean Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the central China.

Half of the world’s population was exposed to dust

A new indicator of sandy and dirt storms, developed by the World Meteorological Organization and the World Health Organization, shows that 3.8 billion people – or nearly half of the world’s population – were exposed to dust levels that exceed the safety threshold set by the World Health Organization between 2018 and 2022.

Exposure varies significantly, from only a few days in relatively affected areas to more than 87% of days – equivalent to more than 1,600 days in five years – in areas most vulnerable to dust.

According to a recent study, it cost dust erosion and wind in the United States alone an estimated $ 154 billion in 2017 – more than four times compared to the 1995 accounts. The World Meteorological Organization said that the real cost of dust was certainly much higher, as reliable assessments were not available at the national level of many economic effects of dust.

In December of this year, an exceptional winter dust storm struck Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and the Arabian Peninsula, and had long -term social and economic consequences, including the abolition of flights, the closure of schools on a large scale and the postponement of public events.

It is mentioned that this report was issued in conjunction with International Day to Combat Sand and Dustry On July 12, which was set by the General Assembly, which also announced the period from 2025 to 2034 contracts to combat sandy and dirt storms.