WMO Airborne Dust Bulletin No. 3 – May 2019
The third Airborne Dust Bulletin reports on the global surface dust concentration in 2018, as well as the observational and forecast results of representative severe sand and duststorms around the world. The analysis presented in this Bulletin relies on a very limited observational database due to the paucity of suitable dust observations and the complexity of extracting specific dust signals from satellite radiances.
About the 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.
