Sandstorm in Saudi Arabia

BY: C ESAR A. G ATAN AND G LYDEL L ABOG .

INTRODUCTION

A sandstorm is described as a natural phenomenon that occurs when a strong wind, such as a
gust front, blows fine sand particles and dust from a dry surface. Sandstorms occur when winds
strengthen to the point where they’re able to lift grains of sand off the ground and blow them
through the air.

Saudi Arabia is a prime location for these extreme sandstorms, as it occupies almost the entire
Arabian Peninsula, and is primarily desert with patches of rocky terrain in the west and central
regions. The Kingdom also sits on a majority of the largest desert area in Asia, the Arabian
Desert.

In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, sandstorms usually occur during late February to mid-
July with a frequency of about 2-3 sandstorm episodes per month. They are usually caused by
thunderstorms – or strong pressure gradients associated with cyclones – which increase wind
speed over a wide area. These strong winds lift large amounts of sand and dust from bare, dry
soils into the atmosphere, transporting them hundreds to thousands of kilometers away. More
and more sandstorms are hitting countries in the Middle East, with officials blaming climate
change and poor water management.

PROBLEM STATEMENT
 Figure 1. Distributions of sandstorms in Saudi Arabia.

The above figure shows the common occurrences of sandstorm in seasonal concepts. It
shows that there are many occurrences of sandstorm in a year in the Arabian Peninsula.
Thus, this gives us the effects of this type of disaster on the Arabic people. Mainly in/are the
following:

1. Respiratory and General health complaints in subjects exposed to sandstorm at Riyadh,

Saudi Arabia.
2. Impacts of Sandstorms on the railway network in Saudi Arabia.
3. The aftermath of a strong sandstorm could damage or destroy buildings. It could also
destroy crops and interrupt transportation because of sand blocking the way.
4. The economy will also be affected.

ELABORATION

Sandstorm carry various types of dust and biological particles which travel across the
continents. The primary pollutants are directly emitted into the atmosphere, whereas, the
secondary pollutants are generated from chemical reactions with other pollutants in the
atmosphere. The sandstorms facilitate long distance dispersal of dust associated biological
particles. The microbiological organisms survive in the sandstorm because many bacteria and
fungi can form pores which enhance their survival.

The sandstorm dust contains bacteria, fungi and virus like particles. The sand storm
contains about 200-1100 bacteria CFU m, and in a gram of topsoil approximately 10 fungi.
These micro-organisms are most likely to survive during even in trans-oceanic transport in a dust
event and the microbes remain viable after being transported several thousand kilometers and are
capable of causing secondary pollutants are generated from chemical reactions with other
pollutants in the atmosphere. The sandstorms facilitate long-distance dispersal of dust-associated
biological particles. The micro-biological organisms survive in sandstorm because many

bacteria and fungi can form spores which enhance their survival. The sandstorm dust contains
bacteria, fungi and virus like particles. The sand storm contains about 200-1100 bacteria CFU m,
and in a gram of topsoil secondary pollutants are generated from chemical reactions with other
pollutants in the atmosphere. The sandstorms facilitate long-distance dispersal of dust-associated
biological particles. The micro-biological organisms survive in sandstorm because many bacteria

and fungi can form spores which enhance their survival. The sandstorm dust contains bacteria,
3
fungi and virus like particles. The sand storm contains about 200-1100 bacteria CFU m , and in
 6
a gram of topsoil approximately 10 fungi. These micro-organisms are most likely to survive
during even in trans-oceanic transport in a dust event and the microbes remain viable after being

transported several thousand kilometers and are capable of causing ailments. After variable
times and distances travelled, microbes, pollen and dust particles eventually fall to the ground.
The subjects who are exposed to sandstorm were more vulnerable to the air pollutants. The dust
particles enter into the respiratory system and develop various health problems. The diseases of
the respiratory system induced by air pollutants are influenced by the type of dust and duration of
exposure to the dust particles.

Public concerns about the

possible adverse effects of
sandstorm have increased, since
the occurrence of these dust
events has become more
frequent in the dry desert zones
of the Saudi Arabia. Sandstorms
frequently strike the Riyadh city
in Saudi Arabia. In the past,
some of the sandstorms engulfed
the entire region and disrupted
the flights, with visibility
dropping almost to zero and it
looked like an orange colored
blanket over the city.

Figure 2. A sandstorm approaching Riyadh city in Saudi Arabia.

The speed of the sandstorm winds reached about 60 miles (96.5 km) / per hour. Keeping
in view the repeated occurrence of sandstorms and its effects on human health, the aim was to
study the acute respiratory and general health complaints in subjects exposed to sandstorm at
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

An eminent scientist has advised people to take adequate precautions during sandstorms in Saudi
Arabia, which can cause a number of health problems, including respiratory complications.

Dr. Sultan Ayoub Meo, professor at the College of Medicine at King Saud University,
Riyadh, said that sandstorms are the main cause of bacterial and viral infections, especially
among elderly people.
 Meo, referring to a series of sandstorms that hit various regions of the Kingdom in the past six
weeks, said that “a large number of people, exposed to sandstorms, have complaints of allergic
rhinitis, runny nose, wheeze, cough, chest tightness, acute asthmatic attack, eye irritation,
redness of the eyes, headache, sleep disturbance and psychological disturbances.”

These are in addition to the respiratory symptoms more common in children and elderly
people, he said.

“The most vulnerable part of the body to sandstorms is the respiratory system,” Meo said.
“People who are exposed to them are more vulnerable to the air pollutants, as the dust particles
enter the respiratory system and cause various health problems.” 

The diseases of the respiratory system induced by air

pollutants are influenced by the type of dust and duration of
exposure to the particles, he said.

He pointed out that the environmental protection

agencies must make use of the print and electronic media to
provide information about the exact date and time of
sandstorms to minimize unnecessary exposure.

 He advised people to wear masks, which are

designed to filter out small particulates, and also airtight goggles to protect the eyes. 

He also suggested that in the desert areas, people might “cultivate the land and adopt a
fallow system” as the cultivation and fallow system minimizes the frequency of sandstorms. 

Meo said that the choking dust in sandstorms contains “a large number of bacteria, fungi
and viruses.”

The below images shows the effect and aftermath of a sandstorm in the public
railway in the deserted land of Saudi Arabia. It is the impacts of sandstorms in the railway
network of transportations in the Saudi Arabia.
 Figure 3. Figure 4.

Sandstorms that cause shifting dunes are a huge technical challenge in the development
of the railway network in Saudi Arabia, and are known one of the most concerning atmospheric
aspects. In this case, the weather or climate change makes railways more problematic and costly
in Saudi Arabia compared to other countries.

Dust particles dramatically change the radiative balance over the Saudi Arabian deserts,
according to Mohalfi, weakening the non-frontal heat, lows created by direct solar heating. This
has an immediate effect on pressure distribution, affecting synoptic-scale systems. Numerical
models have been used in several investigations to simulate or forecast dust outbreaks. Draxler,
utilized the HYSPLIT model to predict PM10 concentrations in many Middle Eastern countries
between August 1990 and August 1991. Because of the poor resolution of the European Centre
for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts’ (ECMWF) gridded data utilized in the model, which did
not capture small-scale phenomena such as sea breezes, the model repeatedly overpredicted
PM10 air concentrations, especially in coastal locations. Likewise, Barnum employed a
University of Colorado-developed meso-scale meteorological model and a dust transport model
to forecast dust storms across the Sahara Desert and southwestern Asia, including Saudi Arabia.
The model’s results were not always accurate. Dust storms in Saudi Arabia’s western and central
areas were underestimated by the model (these were more strongly affected by Saharan dust).
Despite this, it functioned admirably east of the Arabian Desert. Maghrabi investigated the
impact of dust storms on meteorological parameters during a significant dust storm that passed
over Riyadh on 10 March 2009. The air pressure, temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and
direction, and aerosol optical depth (AOD) all changed significantly. Research conducted by
Notaro examined the temporal and geographical aspects of dust storms in 13 Saudi Arabian
cities. The study employed data from the National Climatic Data Centre (NCDC) for eight years
(2005–2012), gridded data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) with
a resolution of (1°–11°), and aerosol optical depth (AOD) data from remote sensing and the
Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS). Dust storms were found to be most common between
February and June, with a spring peak in the northern areas and an early summer high in the
eastern parts. Using satellite photos, AOD data, and meteorological observations, Yu
investigated temporal and geographical air dust variations over Saudi Arabia from 2000 to 2010.
The results revealed that dust activity was at its peak in the northern and central portions of
Saudi Arabia during the spring and summer, and in the southern and western sections during the
early spring and summer, as in previous research. They also showed how satellite data might be
incorrect, especially in places with minimal dust activity, such as coastal areas and
topographically difficult highlands. Four distinct synoptic trends over Saudi Arabia were found
by Awad and Masha, contributing to large spring dust episodes in the central and eastern areas.
The interaction of high- and low-pressure systems across the Arabian Peninsula caused these
circumstances. Furthermore, dust activity in Saudi Arabia’s northern and southern areas is
affected by the expansion of the Siberian High and the Red Sea (Sudanese) trough, respectively.
Amanollahi made some interesting observations about the effect of the temperature difference
between the Mediterranean Sea and the Syrian Desert on the occurrence of dust over western
Iran and eastern Saudi Arabia, concluding that the temperature difference is an important predict
today before a dust storm. A number of articles on global atmospheric circulation and air
temperatures in Saudi Arabia have been published by Vorhees, Hasanean, and Li. For instance,
Vorhees investigated the effects of global climate change on southwest Asia (including Saudi
Arabia). The research looked at the association between (October—winter) temperature and
rainfall in southwest Asia and lower- and upper-level circulation anomalies in the eastern
hemisphere. They discovered that during the winter season, the Siberian High (SH) has a
substantial impact on the climate over Saudi Arabia.
 There are three major desserts in Saudi Arabia namely: An-Nafud, Ad-Dahna and Rub-

al-Khali.  An-Nafud is an upland desert of red sands because of an iron oxide coating that c

Figure 5. Map of Saudi Arabia.

overs an area of 64,000 km2, lying in the northern part of the country at an elevation of 900 m.
The Rub-al-Khali desert covers much of the southeast of the country and beyond the southern
border, which has an estimated area of around 650,000 km 2. The Ad-Dahna desert, or reddish
sandy desert, is a narrow strip of sandy terrain located in the central region of Saudi Arabia,
which extends around 1300 km southward from the northwestern side of An-Nafud desert to the
northwestern borders of the Rub-al-Khali desert.

Strong winds carrying fine sand dust could also destroy and damage buildings and public
facilities, causing casualties of people. A sandstorm could potentially become major problem in
the future in the Arabian Peninsula since the effect climate change also affects the deserted land
of every region. Sand burial is caused by wind sand flow, which buries farmland, channels,
villages, railways, grasslands and so on. The source and affected area of each sand-dust storm
will be damaged by wind erosion to varying degrees, the depth of wind erosion can reach 1-10
cm.
 Production and life are also affected. Dust storms carry a large amount of sand and dust
to shade the sun. The cloudy weather reduces the solar radiation, several hours to more than a
dozen hours of poor visibility can easily make people feel depressed and reduce the efficiency of
work and learning. Sandstorm can also aggravate the wind erosion and desertification of the
surface soil, cover the leaves of plants with thick sand and dust, affect the normal photosynthesis,
resulting in crop yield reduction.

Figure 6. The sandstorm is blocking the sun.

According to Hussain Al-Qahtani, Saudi Arabian National Center for Meteorology

spokesman, the notable increase of sand and dust storms in the Eastern Province is due to its
proximity and exposure to the northern winds that commonly hit the Kingdom. The vast
expanse of sandy beige and red terrain stretching across the country leaves Saudi Arabia
exposed to some of the harshest sandstorms arriving mainly from the north or west. These
storms obscure vision, halt maritime and flight operations, close schools, and harm human
health, while turning the cerulean blue skies an ominous orange. When heavy torrential rains in
late 2009 and early 2010 inundated Jeddah on Saudi Arabia’s western coast and caused mass
floods, civil defense officials declared them to be the worst in over 25 years, prompting the
launch by the NCM of a national weather-warning system connecting all relevant governing
bodies.

The NCM now uses this system to warn of the possibility and intensity of incoming
sandstorms. Green indicates that no severe weather is expected; yellow is “be aware,” amber
“be prepared,” and red is “take action.”

Three key factors are responsible for the generation of sand and dust storms: Strong
wind, lack of vegetation, and absence of rainfall, making the Kingdom the perfect environment
for cross-border dust storms.

Their increasing frequency has taken its toll on the Middle East’s agricultural sector.
Sandstorms reduce crop yields by burying seedlings under sand deposits, destroying plant
tissue, and reducing the plant’s ability to carry out photosynthesis, which delays plant
development.

BUILDING CONNECTIONS

Climate change is considered as the most vital natural phenomenon because it can be
easily change for better or worst. It is just that the effects of human activities later made a
changes on how the climate pattern changes and made it worse.
 Figu
re 7. The process and factors of a sandstorm.

In deserts, sandstorms are commonly caused by the outflows of a thunderstorm, or by a

strong pressure gradient. At several times of the year, sandstorms become more prevalent in
desert regions because the intense heat mixed with the air makes the lower atmosphere more
unstable.
1. Wind
- It is the main factor why sandstorm is being formed.
2. Saltation
- It is the force of the wind that makes the sand particles vibrate. The
particulates are then eventually carried up before being brought down to the
ground again.
3. Creep
-
Also known also as cold flow, is the permanent deformation that increases
with time under constant load or stress. It results due to long time exposure to
large external mechanical stress with in limit of yielding and is more severe in
material that are subjected to heat for long time.
3. Suspension
- As saltation is repeatedly done, these particles break into smaller particles.
Once they have become fine particles, they begin to travel through
suspension.

At several part of the year, sandstorms, become more prevalent in desert region because
the intense heat mixed with the air makes the lower atmosphere more unstable. The
instability of the lower atmosphere combines with the winds found in the middle portion
of the troposphere. The mixture produces strong winds down to the surface.
 According to NASA’S Earth Observatory, though thunderstorms are familiar and
seemingly non-threatening, severe thunderstorms can lead to
dangerous supercells, derechos, and tornadoes.

Severe thunderstorms are defined as having sustained winds above 93 kilometers (58 miles) per
hour or unusually large hail, and there are two key factors that fuel their formation: convective
available potential energy (CAPE) and strong wind shear. CAPE is a measure of how much raw
energy is available for storms; it relates to how warm, moist, and buoyant air is in a given
area. Wind shear is a measure of how the speed and direction of winds change with altitude.

“CAPE can provide storms with the raw fuel to produce rain and hail, and vertical wind shear
can pull and twist weak storms into strong, windy ones,” explained Harold Brooks, a
meteorologist at NOAA’s National Severe Storms Laboratory.

Scientists have evidence that global warming should increase CAPE by warming the surface and
putting more moisture in the air through evaporation. On the other hand, disproportionate
warming in the Arctic should lead to less wind shear in mid-latitude areas prone to severe
thunderstorms. So one factor makes severe storms more likely, while the other makes them less
so.

With that being said, we can assume that the occurrence of a strong sandstorm was due to
the increasing rate of severe thunderstorms that causes intense heat to mix with the air and form
a sandstorm in the deserted region. The connection between sandstorm in the climate change is
also like the thunderstorm since the thunderstorms also affects the air in the deserted region
which will cause a sandstorm.