TEHRAN – After several meetings on dust storm (SDS) monitoring, both countries have decided to select test areas in both countries to determine the best strategy to combat environmental problems.
According to ISNA’s report, the country’s testing area is in Khuzestan province.
In addition, officials from both countries will attend a dust storm conference scheduled to be held in Doha, Qatar, on February 18 and 19.
The conference will serve as a platform for senior officials to share knowledge to address this challenge by developing collective action for regional dust management. Countries attending the meeting will be categorized into two or more regions depending on the area affected and the intensity of the impact.
Iran prioritizes cooperation with Iraq
As Iraq’s dust storm hotspots severely impact western and southwestern regions, the administration has emphasized working with Baghdad to address the issue.
In September 2024, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, in a meeting with Department of Environment (DOE) Secretary Shina Ansari, announced that one of the main pillars of cooperation with Iraq will focus on the implementation of joint environmental activities and follow-up to Iraq. He emphasized that An agreement in this regard was previously reached, IRNA reported.
A report published by four Iranian researchers suggests that the main sources of sandstorms and dust storms affecting Iran emanate from Iraq, Syria, and Saudi Arabia.
The report, titled “Dust in Western Iran: New sources emerge as water bodies shrink,” was authored by Azar Beiranvand, Qasem Azizi, Omid Alizadeh, and Ali Darvisi Bolorani. The book was published in Nature magazine on September 27, 2023.
“The most influential sources affecting western Iran are located on the shores and northwest of Lake Thartar, Awa al-Azim wetlands, the shores of Razaza, Lake Habaniyah, and West Hammar wetlands, which are 110, 79, 59, 56, 51 dusty days.”
In fact, the peak of dust activity in western Iran was between 2008 and 2012, in response to the significant shrinkage of Iraq’s main water bodies.
The main sources of dust affecting western Iran are located in northern and eastern Saudi Arabia in the spring, in Aleppo and Deir Izul in Raqqa in Syria in the summer, and in Homs and Al-Hasakah in Syria in the winter and spring.
Western Iran here refers to the western half of Iran, including northwestern, western, and southwestern Iran. To identify the dust phenomena that occurred in western Iran during the period 2000–2016, meteorological data from 33 synoptic stations were obtained from the Iranian Meteorological Organization.
Approximately 1133.5 km2 of area in West Asia that had persistent surface water in 1984 was completely dry in 2015 and could become a source of dust.
The decrease in precipitation and the occurrence of severe droughts in West Asia from the fall of 2007 to 2012 have also contributed to the shrinkage of lakes and wetlands, and a decline in agricultural productivity in West Asia. This has led to an increase in dust activity. Iran in recent decades.
According to the results, the main source of dust affecting western Iran is located in Iraq. With the decline of surface water in Iraq’s lakes, several new dust sources have emerged, contributing to the significant increase in dust activity in western Iran in recent years.
MT/MG