Road to 2030: Why sand & dust storms pose challenge to achieving multiple SDGs

Sand and dust storms (SDS) have increased dramatically in frequency and severity in recent years, according to the United Nations. In 2022, dust storms affected countries from Turkey to Oman, hitting Iraq particularly badly. Iraq was hit by 10 dust storms between April and June 13, 2022 and over 5,000 people were hospitalised.  

Mid-way to the 2030 target of achieving the United Nations-mandated Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)set in 20115, progress towards most of them is off track.  The growing intensity and frequency of sand and dust storms present a formidable challenge to achieving sustainable development. These will especially affect Africa and the Middle East where desertification is most common, said UN in a statement. 

But yet, the global recognition of sand and dust storms as a hazard is generally low as the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) acknowledged recently in a comprehensive report. Therefore, the UN observed the first-ever International Day of Combatting Sand and Dust Storms on July 12, 2023. 

Interestingly the observance coincided with the third day of the High-level Political Forum on SDGs which began on July 10, 2023 at New York.

Achieving sustainable development as set out in the SDGs can help reduce the occurrence and impact of SDS in affected areas, according to the UN. 

Around 2 million tonnes of sand and dust enter the atmosphere annually. At least 25 per cent of global dust emissions originate from human activities. But, human-induced climate change have increased the frequency and intensity of SDS, according to UN experts.

In some regions, the number of sand and dust particles in the atmosphere had doubled between 1900 and 2000. This trend has continued as man-led climate change worsened.

The impact of sand and dust storms are felt in all regions of the world, both in developed and developing countries. Primary hotspots of the dust storm are the Sahara Desert, the Middle East, the Taklamakan Desert in northwest China, southwest Asia, central Australia, the Etosha and Makgadikgadi basins of southern Africa, the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia and the Great Basin in the United States. 

Such events impact the land and marine ecosystems, are hazardous to human health, livelihoods and the environment. Such impacts are observed in both source regions and distant areas affected directly and indirectly by surface dust deposits.

Sand, dust storms linked to at least 11 of 17 SDGs

So, the impacts of these events are multi-faceted, cross-sectoral and transnational too. In resolution 70 / 195 adopted in 2015, the United Nations General Assembly recognised that dust and sand storms pose a great challenge to the sustainable development of affected countries and regions.

According to the UN, these directly affect and pose severe challenges to achieving 11 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. 

These include SDG 1 on ending poverty, SDG 2 on ending hunger, SDG 3 on health for all, SDG 6 on water and sanitation, SDG 8 on inclusive and sustainable economic growth, SDG 11 on sustainable cities, SDG 13 on climate action and SDG 15 which focus on combating desertification, land degradation.

Impact on food security 

According to a very recent UNCCD report, sand and dust storms can cause crop damage, negatively affecting food quality / quantity and food security. So, reducing desertification / land degradation (including soil erosion) in source areas will help enhance agricultural productivity, it showed, establishing links between these events and the SDG 2 on hunger-free world by 2030.

Dust storm particles are less than 0.05 millimetre in diameter and can be transported thousands of kilometres, distinguishing them from sandstorm particles which are larger and travel, at most, a few kilometres.

SDS impact air quality & health

SDS are recurring environmental phenomena which reduce air quality, visibility and are reported to have adverse effects on health worldwide.

Inhalation of fine particles carried by these storms can lead to respiratory issues, allergies and other health problems. 

A global scientific review published in March 2023 found considerable evidences of the health effects of desert dust and sand storms, especially for respiratory and cardiovascular mortality and morbidity causes.

Dust storms often affect human life and health, not only in the drylands but also in downwind regions. Dust emitted from the North Africa region reaches as far as the rest of Africa, Middle East, Europe, Asia, the Caribbean and the Americas, impacting air quality in those regions too.

Dust from Asia contributed to aerosol loadings in western North America, according to a study. Increased concentrations of dust can adversely affect health and even lead to death, cautioned UNCCD in its report referring to WHO data.

Over 500 million people in India and more than 80 per cent 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, stated the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) in a report released 2021.

These are evidences to establish how sand and dust storms impact air quality and so there is a link with two SDG goals / targets, which include SDG 3.9 (substantial reduction of health impacts from hazardous substances) and SDG 11.6 (reduction of adverse impacts of cities on people).

Arresting land degradation essential 

These storms have a very strong links with SDG 15 (life in land), especially in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world. They occur when strong or very turbulent winds blow over dry, unvegetated soils and lift loose particles from the Earth’s surface to the atmosphere.

The hotspots for these include the belt of tropical and subtropical deserts of the Northern hemisphere, stretching from the Sahara through the Middle East to the Great Indian Desert, as well as the mid-latitude deserts of Central Asia and China-Mongolia.

So, these regions must especially focus on achieving SDG 15 by combating desertification, and halting and reversing land degradation.

There are three dust source types: Hydrologic, where dust linked to various water features as discussed above; natural, where dust emitted from land surfaces where land use is less than 30 per cent; and anthropogenic, which are sources where land use exceeds 30 per cent.

Shrinking water bodies are the hotspots of sand and dust storms, stated a study in December 2021.  ‘Playas’, the exposed beds of shrinking water bodies, are significant dust sources, according to the study. As a result, these are potentially hazardous to human health too. The demand for water for urban areas or irrigation disturbs the hydrology of ephemeral lakes and playas and adds to the crisis as ‘dust sources’.

Under SDG 6.6, the world had an ambitious target by 2020 to protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes. 

So, if the world is not on track in protecting and restoring the aquatic ecosystems as required under SDG 6, this would impact dust emissions. 

In the Middle East and North Africa, about $13 billion in gross domestic product (GDP) are lost every year due to dust storms, UN estimated.

Mitigating SDS disasters will significantly lower the number of people affected and economic losses caused, contributing to safer, more sustainable and more disaster resilient human settlements, as required under SDG 11.

Poor climate action to exacerbate threat

Sand and dust storms often originate in dryland areas, which cover 41 per cent of the Earth’s land surface and comprise some of the most fragile ecosystems, highly susceptible to global climate change.

So, dust storms can be influenced by climate change, and they, in turn, contribute to climate-related impacts.

They can affect regional weather patterns, alter carbon and nutrient cycles, and contribute to desertification and land degradation.

Scientific evidences and studies showed that the intensity of sandstorms is going to become more intense as the temperature increases further. It is indeed linked to climate change, as the UNESCAP stated in its report on Sand and Dust Storms in Asia and the Pacific.

“As temperatures and drought occurrence increase, reduced soil moisture will greatly contribute towards increasing the intensity and frequency of sand and dust storms in South, South-West and Central Asia. This includes India in South Asia,” the UNESCAP report said.  

Addressing sand and dust storms requires an integrated approach, which involves sustainable land management, climate change mitigation and adaptation, disaster risk reduction including early warning systems and international cooperation, said the World Meteorological Organization.