A wall of blowing sand and dust lifted by strong, turbulent winds, most common in arid and semi-arid regions where loose, dry soil offers little resistance. Visibility can drop to near zero within minutes as the leading edge sweeps across open desert or drought-stricken farmland. Large dust storms can loft material thousands of miles, as when Saharan dust regularly crosses the Atlantic to affect air quality in the Americas.
Facts
Open Questions
First DescribedNot documented as a single coined term or founding scientific description in the source consulted.
Dust storms have been observed and regionally named for centuries, for example as the simoom over the Sahara and the haboob in Sudan, rather than traced to one origin event or naming; no single first scientific description was found in the source consulted. PeriodicityDust storm frequency has risen sharply in some regions in recent decades: Mauritania saw just two dust storms a year in the early 1960s, but about 80 a year since 2007. 1 ScaleDust can be lifted as high as 6,000 m (20,000 feet) in a dust storm, with the advancing wall of dust itself reaching as much as 1.6 km (5,200 feet) in height. 1 Identification
Distinguishing AppearanceA dust storm advances as a wall of thick, blowing dust, with the leading edge composed of a wall of thick dust as much as 1.6 km (5,200 feet) high. 1 Connections
Associated With
Extended drought strips soil of moisture and vegetation cover, a major contributing cause of large dust storms, most famously during the 1930s Dust Bowl.
The Harmattan season in West Africa carries Saharan dust and is associated with a marked seasonal increase in dust storm and haze events across the region.
Demonstrated By
Source National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Desert, Biomes Source National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Strong winds crossing the sparsely vegetated sand ridges and clay pans of this desert raise large dust storms, a recurring feature of the Australian arid interior.
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Shifting sands and sparse vegetation across the Karakum make it a frequent source of large dust storms over Central Asia.
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
The long parallel dune fields of the Simpson Desert are a frequent source of dust storms that sweep across central Australia.
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Source National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Strong pre-monsoon winds across the sandy terrain of the Thar regularly raise dust storms that reach cities across northern India.
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Sources
1. Dust Storm (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationPhysical and environmental effects section
In Mauritania there were just two dust storms a year in the early 1960s; there are about 80 a year since 2007
Causes section
dust (but not sand) may be lifted as high as 6,000 m (20,000 ft)
View the Source National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration- Demonstrated By: Desert
- Demonstrated By: Arabian Desert
- Demonstrated By: Taklamakan Desert
View the Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.- Demonstrated By: Great Victoria Desert
- Demonstrated By: Karakum Desert
- Demonstrated By: Simpson Desert
- Demonstrated By: Thar Desert
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