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The global average of annual mean surface dust concentrations in 2023 was slightly lower than that in 2022, mainly due to reduced dust emissions from several dust-active regions around the world, such as North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, the Iranian Plateau, northern India, central Australia and north-western China.
But annual mean surface dust concentrations over western Central Asia, north-central China and southern Mongolia in 2023 were higher than those in 2022, according to the Bulletin.
The concentration of an air pollutant is given in micrograms (one-millionth of a gram) per cubic meter air or µg/m3. Spatially, the estimated peak annual mean surface dust concentration was located in some areas of Chad in North-Central Africa, at about 800–1 100 µg m3. In the southern hemisphere, dust concentrations reached their highest level in parts of central Australia and the west coast of South Africa.
Wind-driven dust aerosols may be transported from these typical dust source areas to many regions worldwide over hundreds to thousands of kilometres. The regions that are most vulnerable to long-range transport of dust are the northern tropical Atlantic Ocean between West Africa and the Caribbean, South America, the Mediterranean Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and central-eastern China.
In 2023, the transatlantic transport of African dust invaded parts of the Caribbean Sea region, and East Asian dust aerosols from the Gobi Desert also continued to reach the Bohai and Yellow Seas.
In the most affected areas, the annual mean surface dust concentration in 2023 was higher than the climatological mean. Hotspots included South America; parts of North and Central Africa.
Annual mean surface concentration of mineral dust (in μg m–3) in 2023. (b) Anomaly of the annual mean surface dust concentration in 2023 relative to the 1981–2010 mean. Source: These results are derived from the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2) (Gelaro et al., 2017)
During March to May 2023, East Asia was affected 13 times by intense dust intrusions. From 19 to 24 March, a massive dust storm swept across Mongolia and northern China, triggered by a cyclone over Mongolia and intensified by a cold surface wind, leading to widespread sand lifting.
The storm’s progression from west to east resulted in a rapid spread of sand and dust, affecting Mongolia and China, and even reaching the Republic of Korea and Japan. It caused a dramatic decline in air quality, with PM10 (particulate matter with diameters of less than 10 µm) concentrations in some areas exceeding 9 000 µg m–3. It reduced visibility to less than 500 m in parts of Beijing and led to significant disruptions in transportation and daily life, highlighting the need for effective warning systems.
Strong and persistent dust outbreaks attributed to Harmattan surges began in the autumn of 2023 and recurred throughout the winter, affecting air quality and reducing visibility with significant impacts in the region.
In December 2023, several intense dust outbreaks affected an extensive region of the western Maghreb, the Sahel and the Gulf of Guinea and was also transported over the Atlantic.
The winter and early spring period of December 2023 to April 2024 saw a number of Saharan dust intrusions.
Comparison between observed SDS phenomenon and forecasted surface dust concentrations (µg m–3) by ensemble forecast from the Sand and Dust Storm Warning Advisory and Assessment System (SDS-WAS) Asian Node at 0900 UTC on 21 March 2023. Blue symbols indicate the weather stations where dust was recorded.
There are, however, some positives.
The WMO Bulletin quotes a new study that Saharan dust deposition in the open waters of the Atlantic influences skipjack tuna by providing iron, phosphorus and elements that favour the growth of phytoplankton. The resulting new organic matter is transferred across the food web, from small fishes to large predators, favouring the whole marine ecosystem. The role of dust is important for the international management of fisheries.
From the 1950s to the 2020s, yearly catches of Atlantic skipjack have increased from less than 1 000 tonnes to average levels of 250 000 tonnes. During the 1990s and 2000s skipjack catches were about eight times higher in the eastern than in the western Atlantic. Indeed, in the last decade catches in the eastern Atlantic have accounted for nearly 90% of total Atlantic catches, data that highlight the large skipjack biomass off Western Africa, supported by dust fertilization.
The Airborne Dust Bulletin discusses advances and challenges in dust forecasts, including assimilation of satellite observations and seasonal dust forecasting.
More than 25 organizations currently provide daily global or regional dust forecasts in different geographic regions, including 9 global models and more than 15 regional models contributing to SDS-WAS. The SDS-WAS integrates research and user communities (e.g. medical, aeronautical, agricultural users).
At the moment three Regional Nodes are established: the Northern Africa-Middle East-Europe Node (with the associated centre in Barcelona, Spain), the Asian Node (with the centre in Beijing, China) and the Pan-American node (with the centre in Bridgetown, Barbados).
In 2023, WMO SDS-WAS welcomed the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Regional Node and its associated Regional Center in Jeddah. The Jeddah Regional Center is hosted by the National Center for Meteorology of Saudi Arabia.
The GCC Regional Node started with six countries in the region (Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and United Arab Emirates). It promotes capacity building in the region providing a platform to gather and unite experts, scientists and policymakers under a common goal. Promoting regional collaboration will progressively build a path toward sustainable solutions and enhanced regional resilience in the region.
WMO Airborne Dust Bulletin Animation - July 2024
Sand and dust storms - 2019
