• Dust storm wraps Melbourne causing major power outages, Australia

    An intense thunderstorm accompanied with strong winds and dust passed through Melbourne on January 13, 2016. The storm covered the city in a cloud of dust which lasted about 10 to 20 minutes, reducing visibility in the area. Power outages and damaged buildings have…

  • Large dust storm clouds Phoenix, Arizona

    A large dust storm swept the US Arizona's capital of Phoenix on October 16, 2015, media reports. The cloud system was hovering about 1 500 m (4 921 feet) above the ground, packing winds of 100 km/h (62 mph) and was followed by a strong thunderstorm. Video…

  • Middle East dust storms more common in recent years, news media suggests

    A storm with characteristics of both the 'shamal' – long lived and wide reaching dust storm – and 'haboob' – storm fronts that appear as walls of sand and dust – moved across Iraq, Iran and the Persian Gulf region in early September 2015. The storm

  • Severe sandstorm hits United Arab Emirates

    United Arab Emirates (UAE) was hit by a severe sandstorm on March 10 and 11, 2015.Rainfall is also expected today and tomorrow across parts of the UAE, with the wet weather blowing in fresh winds that will raise dust and sand over open areas and reduce visibility, Emira

  • Persistent dust storms across the Arabian Peninsula

    In late February 2015, a significant winter storm stirred up dust and sand across much of the Arabian Peninsula. The low-pressure system energized strong northwest winds that carried dust from as far as northern Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Kuwait to the shores of the Persia

  • Saharan dust on the move across Atlantic Ocean

    Disturbances such as large thunderstorm complexes or simply strong trade winds over North Africa periodically result in vast dust and sand storms, some of which extend as high as 6 000 meters. These can be driven out to sea within the Saharan Air Layer

  • Changing climate: How dust changed the face of the Earth

    In spring 2010, the research icebreaker Polarstern returned from the South Pacific with a scientific treasure – ocean sediments from a previously almost unexplored part of the South Polar Sea. What looks like an inconspicuous sample of mud to a layman is, to geological

  • Dust storm worsen air pollution problems in China

    The dust plumes originated from the Gobi Desert arose along the China-Mongolia border on March 8, 2013. Arising along the border between China and southwestern Mongolia, the dust extended as far south as the Sichuan Basin and continued to blow for several