Context: According to a new United Nations (UN) report, more than 500 million people in India and more than 80% of the entire populations of Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran are exposed to medium and high levels of poor air quality due to sand and dust storms.

• The findings were published in the Asian and Pacific Centre for the Development of Disaster Information Management (APDIM) report Sand and Dust Storms Risk Assessment in Asia and the Pacific. 

Note: APDIM is a regional institution of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). 

• The report identified ’east and northeast Asia’, ’south and southwest Asia’, ’central Asia’ and the ’Pacific’ as the four main sand and dust storm corridors of Asia-Pacific. 

Key highlights of the report
Poor air quality: Sand and dust storms contribute significantly to poor air quality in Karachi, Lahore and Delhi in ‘southwest Asia’. Nearly 60 million people in these places experienced more than 170 dusty days a year in 2019.

• According to environmental experts, Sand and dust storms are a transboundary meteorological hazard, . 
• The report assessed the risk of this hazard for agriculture, energy, environment, aviation, human health and cities separately. 

Multitudinal Impact
Energy loss

• India, China and Pakistan lost 1,584 gigawatt-hours (gWh), 679 gWh and 555 gHw of energy loss, resepctively, due to sand and dust storms.
• These losses amounted to over $107 million (Rs 782 crore) for India per year and exceed $46 million and $37 million for China and Pakistan respectively.

Threat to Agriculture produce

• Cotton contributes significantly to the gross domestic product and foreign exchange earnings in Turkmenistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan which saw reduction in its yield.
• Dust deposition impacted large portions of farmland in Turkmenistan (71 per cent), Pakistan (49 per cent) and Uzbekistan (44 per cent).
• Much of this dust is characterised by high salt content, making it toxic for plants. It reduces yield, posing a significant threat to the production of irrigated cotton and other crops. 

Deposition of dust on glaciers

• Very high dust deposition also occurs in the Himalaya-Hindu Kush mountain range and the Tibetan Plateau, the so-called ‘third pole’ that are the sources for fresh water for more than 1.3 billion people in Asia. 
• It induces a warming effect, increasing the melting of ice, with direct and indirect impacts on society through numerous issues, including food security, energy production, agriculture, water stress and flood regimes.

On Sustainable development goals

• Sand and dust storms directly affect 11 of the 17 United Nations-mandated sustainable development goals (SDG).
• These are Ending poverty in all forms; Ending hunger; Good health and well-being ; Safe water and sanitation; Affordable and clean energy; Decent work and economic growth; Industry innovation and infrastructure; Sustainable cities and communities; Climate action; Life below water and Life on land.

Extreme droughts heighten risks

• The risk of impacts from sand and dust storms is projected to increase in the 2030s due to more extreme drought conditions in parts of Western Australia, south-easternTurkey, Iran and Afghanistan.

Road Ahead

• The impacts of dust storms are not all negative. They can increase the nutrient content in the areas of deposition and benefit vegetation. For eg: Dust particles that carry iron can enrich parts of oceans, improving the phytoplankton balance and impacting marine food webs.
• The evidence presented in this assessment calls for Member States to strategise their joint actions, consider gaining a deeper understanding of the socio-economic impact of sand and dust storms, establish a coordinated monitoring and early warning system with an impact-based focus as well as coordinate actions in most at-risk and exposed geographical areas to mitigate the risks.