WMO Airborne Dust Bulletin No. 10 – July 2026
- Global average dust surface concentrations in 2025 similar to 2024
- North Africa and Middle East heavily impacted
- China had worst dust intrusion in a decade
- Record-breaking dust activity along US/Mexican border
- AI has potential to improve sand and dust forecasts but more research needed
The global average of annual mean dust surface concentrations in 2025 was similar to 2024, with big regional variations, according to the Airborne Dust Bulletin.
The highest annual mean dust concentrations worldwide remained centred in the Bodélé Depression in Chad, one of the world's most active dust source regions.
North Africa and the Middle East were hit by a series of major dust intrusions, which harmed air quality and reduced visibility.
In April 2025, dust swept down from Mongolia into China, resulting in the worst sand and dust storm in China for the past decade – in terms of high intensity, wide influence and long duration.
In the desert border region of Mexico and the USA, there were exceptionally frequent, intense and long dust storms. El Paso in Texas experienced 50 days with dust weather in 2025, more than double the annual average. The number of dust storms was the greatest since 1935, during the USA’s protracted “Dust Bowl” disaster.
About the WMO Airborne Dust Bulletin series
The annual WMO Airborne Dust Bulletin reports on the incidence and hazards of sand and dust storms, which have a major impact on air quality, health, the environment, agriculture and economies.
Every year, around 2,000 million tons of dust enters the atmosphere and can be transported for hundreds of kilometers. Much of this is a natural process, but a large part of it is the result of poor water and land management.
Forecasts have improved greatly thanks to the WMO Global Sand and Dust Storm Warning Advisory and Assessment System, which coordinates international sand and dust research and has operational regional centres.
