Abu Dhabi: About two years ago all schools in the Riyadh region of Saudi Arabia had to be closed down for two days due to sand and dust storms. Flights were disrupted or diverted and many fatal accidents occurred on the roads. It affected almost all aspects of people’s lives.
Although no proper study has been conducted yet on their impact on the regional economy, the losses will run into billions of dollars, meteorological experts said here on Monday at a meeting to develop a regional programme to combat sand and dust storms (SDS).
SDS in the West Asia Region have escalated in scale, geographic spread, intensity and frequency to such a level they have become an impediment to development and human well-being across several countries in the region, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep), which took the initiative to launch the regional programme.
In March and May 2012, the region was hit with probably the worst sand and dust storms in history; schools and airports were closed, traffic paralysed and hospitals congested with cases of respiratory diseases. In some areas visibility was as low as 100 metres.
SDS affect fragile ecosystems and the livelihood of people and their well-being, said a Unep note prepared for the meeting.
Abandoned agricultural land, drought and climate change are among the most cited causes behind SDS. However the sources and causes are not comprehensively investigated nor the full range of solutions explored, it said.
Unep is launching the programme to improve regional cooperation beyond national action plans.
The UAE is hosting the meeting as it is committed to building closer regional cooperation to deal with the SDS, said Dr Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahd, Minister of Environment and Water, in his opening speech.
He highlighted the UAE’s efforts to mitigate the impact of SDS such as the development of early monitoring and alarm systems.
The UAE is building green belts on roads and enacting legislation to limit local dust emissions from crushers and cement industries, Bin Fahd said.
The billions of dollars loss caused by SDS to the regional economy makes the regional programme the need of the hour, a senior Saudi Arabian official told Gulf News. “Although no proper study has been conducted to cite proper figures of losses, it is clear that SDS affect all sectors of economy including fisheries,” said Dr Sa’ad M. Mohalfi, Chairman of the Arab League Permanent Committee for Meteorology, said.
SDS also cause road accidents, he said.
“Elderly people and sick people, especially those who suffer from asthma, are also worst hit by this phenomenon, and governments and people have to spend huge money on the medical treatment,” Mohalfi said.
Apart from the UAE, representatives from Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Turkey, and other UN organisations and partners are attending the two-day meeting, which ends on Tuesday.
