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Impacts of Sand and Dust Storms on Agriculture and Potential Agricultural Applications of a Sand and Dust Storm Warning System

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Publication date
04/03/2009
Number of Pages
7
Language:
English
Type of Publication:
Studies
Focus Region:
Global
Focus Topic:
Climate / Weather / Environment
Capacity Development
Knowledge Management
Type of Risk:
Weather & Climate related
Logistical & infrastructural
Type of Risk Managment Option:
Risk assessment
Risk coping
Risk reduction/mitigation
Commodity:
Crops
Livestock
Other
Author
R. Stefanski, M.V.K. Sivakumar
Organization
World Meteorological Organization

This paper overviews the various impacts of sand and dust storms on agriculture and addresses the potential applications of a Sand and Dust Storm Warning System (SDSWS). Sand and dust storms negatively impact the agricultural sector by: reducing crop yields, the loss of plant tissue and reduced photosynthetic activity, delaying plant development, increasing end-of-season drought risk, increasing soil erosion and desertification, filling up irrigation canals with sediments, covering transportation routes, and affecting water and air quality. A SDSWS can alert agricultural communities farmers to take preventive action in the near-term such as harvesting maturing crops (vegetables, grain), sheltering livestock, and strengthening infrastructure (houses, roads, grain storage) for the storm. An archive of SDSWS products (movement, amount of sand and dust) could also be used in researching plant and animal pathogen movement and the relationship of sand and dust storms to disease.