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Environmental and socio‐economicimpacts of dust storms in Sistan Region,IranAbbas Miri a , Hasan Ahmadi b , Mohammad Reza Ekhtesasi c ,Naser Panjehkeh d & Ahmad Ghanbari ea Department of Range and Watershed Management, Faculty ofNatural Resources , University of Zabol , Iranb Faculty of Natural Resources , University of Tehran , Karaj, Iranc Department of Watershed & Range Management, Faculty ofNatural Resources , Yazd University , Irand Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture ,University of Zabol , Irane Department of Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture ,University of Zabol , IranPublished online: 30 Sep 2009.

To cite this article: Abbas Miri , Hasan Ahmadi , Mohammad Reza Ekhtesasi , Naser Panjehkeh& Ahmad Ghanbari (2009) Environmental and socio‐economic impacts of dust storms inSistan Region, Iran, International Journal of Environmental Studies, 66:3, 343-355, DOI:10.1080/00207230902720170

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International Journal of Environmental Studies,Vol. 66, No. 3, June 2009, 343–355

International Journal of Environmental StudiesISSN 0020-7233 print: ISSN 1029-0400 online © 2009 Taylor & Francis

http://www.tandf.co.uk/journalsDOI: 10.1080/00207230902720170

Environmental and socio-economic impacts of dust storms in Sistan Region, Iran

ABBAS MIRI¥*, HASAN AHMADI†, MOHAMMAD REZA EKHTESASI‡, NASER PANJEHKEH§ AND AHMAD GHANBARI¶

¥Department of Range and Watershed Management, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Zabol,Iran; †Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran; ‡Department of Watershed &

Range Management, Faculty of Natural Resources, Yazd University, Iran; §Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zabol, Iran; ¶Department of Plant Breeding, Faculty

of Agriculture, University of Zabol, IranTaylor and Francis LtdGENV_A_372187.sgm

(Received 5 Jan 2009)10.1080/00207230902720170International Journal of Environmental Studies0020-7233 (print)/1029-0400 (online)Original Article2009Taylor & Francis0000000002009AbbasMiriMiri.abbas@gmail.com

Sustained drought and reduced precipitation for more than four years in the Sistan region, has driedthe Hamoun Lake and local vegetation, significantly reducing ground cover. These conditions havepermitted strong wind erosion on already susceptible land. Data analysis revealed that instead of thenormal 120 days of strong winds, dust storms occurred for 338 days in the region during 2000–2004.This included 18 days of intensive dust storms and 51 days of moderate dust storms in Zabol. Anattempt has been made to quantify the damage costs using an analytical-descriptive method based onquestionnaires completed by the local community and organizations. The cumulative losses in termsof physical damage and loss of productive man-hours have been estimated at US$124.85 million,over a four-year period between 2000 and 2005.

Keywords: Sistan; Dust storm; Local community; Damage costs

1. Introduction

Dust storms are a natural phenomenon under conditions of strong wind, cyclone movementand dry, loose and bare sandy soil. They occur frequently in deserts and their surroundingareas [1,2] and in arid and semi-arid agricultural regions [3]. Dust storms are classifiedaccording to the amount of reduction in visibility which they produce: Dust Haze, BlowingDust, Dust Storm and Dust Devil, with corresponding visibilities of about 10 km, 1–10 km,0.5–1 km, and <0.5 km, respectively [4]. Sand-dust events are catastrophic weather phenom-ena with severe impacts on eco-environments and human health [5,6]. Studies by Orlovskyand Orlovsky [7] show that the Karakum desert and western regions of Turkmenistan aresome of the most active sources of dust storms in Asia.

Using 20-year statistical data from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Squires (1995)divided wind erosion into four categories [8]:

*Corresponding author. Email: miri.abbas@gmail.com

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1) Intensive wind erosion; when the horizontal visibility is less than 200 m in a large area.2) Intermediate wind erosion; when the horizontal visibility in a large area is more than

200 m and less than 1000 m.3) Low wind erosion; when the weather is dusty, and the native dust amount is less than

150 µg/m3/h.4) Very low wind erosion or zero erosion; when the weather is clear, and the total suspended

particle amount is less than 150 µg m−3 h−1.

Wind erosion occurrence in South Australia [9] was also divided into four categories, withsome variations, as follows:

a) Intensive wind erosion, when horizontal visibility is less than 200 m.b) Intermediate wind erosion, when horizontal visibility is less than 1000 m.c) Low wind erosion, when the weather is dusty and total TPS (total suspended particulate

matter) is more than 150 µg m−3 h−1.d) Zero wind erosion, when TPS is less than 150 µg m−3 h−1.

Dust storms occurring in northwest India were divided into three categories as follows[10]:

a) Weak dust storm; when the wind force is 6 Beaufort and horizontal visibility variesbetween 500 and 1000 m.

b) Intermediate dust storm; when the wind force is 6 Beaufort and horizontal visibilityvaries between 200 and 500 m.

c) Intensive dust storm; when the wind force is 9 Beaufort and horizontal visibility is lessthan 200 m.

A prolonged storm that raged for 31 hours on 5 May in 1993, in northwest China, reporteddamage as follows [8]:

1) More than 373,000 hectares of cultivated land and 16,300 hectares of orchards andgardens were destroyed. The storms eroded an average 10 cm from the surface soil inmost areas and more than 50 cm in some areas.

2) Blackouts due to fallen electric poles and destruction of electrical infrastructure exceededUS$10 million, affecting more than 83 million people.

3) More than 4412 houses were destroyed or buried by sands.4) 85 people were dead, 246 injured and 31 missing. Of the livestock, 12,000 were dead and

more than 730,000 missing.5) More than 1000 km length of irrigation channels were buried.

Further assessment revealed that 11.5% of the total land area in China is threatened by duststorms. Data collected from 72 states and cities of China, comprising a population of 12 million,showed that dust storms had taken 85 lives and injured 246 people. In addition, 100 of the 1000livestock in the area were dead. Hundreds of thousands of hectares of arable land, orchardsand greenhouses were devastated. Highways, railways, and power generation plants were alsodestroyed [11].

A survey [12] in New Mexico by Piper and Huszar, showed that external-regional erosionwas 50 times the internal-regional erosion. Some 90–95% of the evaluated damage costs

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Environmental and socio-economic impacts of dust storms in Sistan Region, Iran 345

related to home clean up expenditure. The highest assessed damage costs were in regions thathad the highest frequency of dust storms and air pollution.

In South Australia, damages from wind erosion included community health, flight delays,roads and road accidents. The amount of damage in each centre is shown in table 1.

To the best of our knowledge, no report has as yet been published on the impact of duststorm in Iran, although a methodology has been developed by the Forests, Rangelands andWatershed Organization which is being applied to gather data countrywide.

2. Study area

The Sistan region lies between 60°15′ E and 61°50′ E longitude, and 30°5′ N and 31°28′ Nlatitude; it is in the southeast part of Iran (figure 1). It covers an area of approximately 15,197square km and has a population of about 400,000. The Hamoun Lake, shaped like a horse-shoe, is located to the north of the region.

Table 1. Annual expenditure in Australian damage centres from wind erosion in South Australia(Australian dollars)

Damage centre High ($) Intermediate ($) Low ($) Damage percent

Health 49,884,006 19,549,601 9,979,801 86Family 5,080,862 3,039,926 1,227,596 13.49Flights 4158 2583 1758 0.01Road accident 34,500 23,000 11,500 0.1Road maintenance 176,296 88,209 33,837 0.4Total ($) 55,529,822 23,357,320 11,137,492 100

Figure 1. Location of the Sistan Region.

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Figure 1. Location of the Sistan Region.Sistan lies on the world Desert Belt and has an arid and semi-arid climate. The aridity of theclimate is manifested by very low precipitation (59 mm), low air humidity, low cloudiness, highevaporation rates (nearly 4820 mm), high annual temperature (22°C) and frequent droughts.

The region is subject to severe winds; occasionally wind speeds reach 120 km per hour.The 1999 drought which caused the Hamoun Lake to dry up and also changed the land usefrom agricultural to waste land, has increased the susceptibility of the soil to erosion. Thearea subject to soil erosion has increased which is also, in turn, a cause for dust storms.Figure 2 shows the Hamoun Lake before and after the drought.Figure 2. Views of Hamoun Lake: (a) before the drought; (b) after the drought.

3. Data and methods

Data including dust storm and horizontal visibility were collected from the Zabol synopticstation. Data were recorded at 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21 and 24 hours. For production of the duststorms we assigned days on which the wind speed was more than 15 ms−1 and horizontal visi-bility was less than 1000 m. The data were grouped as follows using Williams and Young’s[9] and Joseph’s [10] methods.

1) Dust storms with low intensity: when the weather is dusty and the native dust amount ismore than 150 µg m−3 h−1.

2) Dust storm with intermediate intensity, when wind speed exceeds 15 ms−1 and horizontalvisibility is 200–1000 m.

3) Dust storm with high intensity, when wind speed exceeds 15 ms−1 and horizontal visibil-ity is less than 200 m.

Initially, damages caused by wind erosion (dust storm) were determined based on experienceand existing information in the region of damage centres. Subsequently, some forms and ques-tionnaires (150 for each damage centre) were prepared and completed by the local communityand organizations in each damage centre. Finally, the completed forms and questionnaires weregrouped, and the extent of damage and its ensuing costs were determined for each centre.

4. Results

Based on analysis of data collected from the Zabol synoptic station, three categories of winderosion were identified in the region during 2000–2004 (see table 2).

Figure 2. Views of Hamoun Lake: (a) before the drought; (b) after the drought.

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Environmental and socio-economic impacts of dust storms in Sistan Region, Iran 347

As shown in table 2, 338 days in the studied period faced intensive wind erosion (that is,intensive to intermediate dust storms) in the region. In 2001, there were 18 days with inten-sive dust storm and 51 days with intermediate dust storms. The maximum frequency of duststorms was registered in summer, particularly in June and July. Weak fixation of the soilparticles, insufficient precipitation, rapid drying of the upper layer of the Hamoon lake, lowpercentage of vegetation cover and high wind speeds (> 25 ms−1) are factors favourable forraising dust storm in summertime (figure 3).Figure 3. Monthly average number of days with dust storms in Sistan Region during 2000–2004Therefore, it can be said that recent damages in the region studied indicate a crisis condi-tion of wind erosion. As it is difficult to assess the entire damage caused by dust storms, theassessment was limited to extent of damage to roads, community health, school breaks,cleaning up houses (removing dust from clothes, dishes, appliances, etc.) and accumulationof mounds of sand in residential areas. Additional damages caused by drought have not beenincluded in the study. Damages caused by the dust storms are described in detail below.

4.1. Roads

Damages to roads have been divided into two groups:

4.1.1. Reduced visibility and accidents. Windblown dust affects horizontal visibility, caus-ing accidents [13]. In extreme cases, horizontal visibility is less than 1 m (figure 4).Figure 4. Reduced horizontal visibility and vehicle accidents.In recent years, many accidents have been reported on dusty and stormy days in the Sistanregion. These have resulted in death and injury of travellers (see table 3). Accidents involvingtrucks transporting cargo are costly and affect the local economy. The study showed that the

Table 2. Three positions of dust storms in Zabol region during 2000–2004. The figure indicate days

YearDust storms with

low intensityDust storms with

intermediate intensityDust storms with

high intensity

2000 3 51 42001 12 57 182002 8 48 82003 8 47 182004 7 46 3

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Figure 3. Monthly average number of days with dust storms in Sistan Region during 2000–2004.

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348 A. Miri et al.

greatest number of accidents during one complete 24 hours (day and night) occurred whenthe dust was at peak intensity. The maximum number of vehicle accidents in the period stud-ied took place in July and August 2002 (figure 5).Figure 5. The frequency of accidents in the region (a, b, c ).

4.1.2. Damage to roads. Damage to roads includes damages to signposts and road surface(tables 4 and 5). Roads approximately within 100 km from Zabol are in the hazard area.Shifting sand particles in dust storms cause road signs to fade from abrasion and buryasphalted road surfaces. As shifted sands accumulate to form mounds on roads they becomeobstacles for moving vehicles. The costs of getting rid of the obstacles, repairing and replac-ing signs and signposts and asphalted surfaces are shown in figure 6, as damages to roads.Figure 6. The percentage (%) of affected rural population who did not seek medical assistance.

4.2. Community health

Aerosol particles smaller than 2.5 mm diameter, have been observed to be closely linkedto increased respiratory morbidity and mortality [14–17] (table 6). Particulate matter is asignificant human health hazard capable of causing long-term respiratory ailments and evensudden death [18,19]. Fine particles are of the greatest health concern because they can beinhaled most deeply into the lungs [20]. Air pollution is one of the most important effects ofdust storms in Zabol region. Dust particles floating in the air cause respiratory, eye and eardisease and skin allergies. The results drawn from the information collected in the question-naires on the impact of dust storms on Zabol’s local community have been analysed below.

4.2.1. Health and medical costs. Some 64% of the respondents did not seek any medicalassistance during or after the storm. The percentage of affected rural population who did notseek medical assistance is more than the urban population (figure 7). Doctor’s fees are $5 avisit, and 15 such visits annually amount to $75 per annum, which is beyond the means of

Figure 4. Reduced horizontal visibility and vehicle accidents.

Table 3. Number of injured and dead and cost of damages from accidents

YearsNumber of accidents Injured Dead

Damage amount (×1000 US$)

2002 35 63 11 3222003 28 43 8 2382004 21 34 9 149Total 84 71 19 709

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Environmental and socio-economic impacts of dust storms in Sistan Region, Iran 349

most of the local population. Since the entire population living in the region is uniformlyexposed to dust storms, the questionnaire results were seen as typical of the community. Ofthe 79% respondents to the survey, 20% were excluded due to errors arising from filling upthe questionnaire, and another 25% were excluded since they reported diseases due to malnu-trition and hygiene, not related to dust storms. Therefore, 34% of the total population(136,000 people) was estimated as dust storm patients. The costs to the community, based onthe above analysis, were estimated at US$30.6 million during the period 2000–2004.Figure 7. Damage to road signs and road surfaces due to dust storms.

4.2.2. Respiratory patients referred to Zabol hospital. Asthma and Chronic ObstructivePulmonary Disease (COPD) are the most prevalent respiratory diseases in recent years.

Figure 5. The frequency of accidents in the region (a, b, c ).

Table 4. The type and amount of damage costs to roads in the studied period

Damage typeDamage amount

(×1000 US$)

Road signs 52Asphalt surface 2775Road maintenance 2100Total 4927

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350 A. Miri et al.

The prevalence of these diseases has been proven to have been accelerated by duststorms. The COPD is a chronic lung disease which causes airflow blockage, and affectsbreathing. The disease commences in childhood and progresses gradually with age. Dataanalysis of records in the Zabol hospital revealed that the highest number of patients withthis disease was referred between June and August when the dust storms were at theirpeak (figure 8).

Table 5. The type and amount of damage costs entered to the society in the damage centre of roads

Damage typeDamage amount during

2000–2004 (×1000 US$)

Road accident 709Road destruction 4927Total 5636

Table 6. The type and amount of damage costs to society in the damage centre of social health

Damage type Damage amount during 2000–2004 (×1000 US$)

Damages estimated through questionnaire analysis 30,600Hospital patients 600Total 31,200

Figure 7. Damage to road signs and road surfaces due to dust storms.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

CityUrbanF

req

uen

cy (

%)

Figure 6. The percentage (%) of affected rural population who did not seek medical assistance.

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Environmental and socio-economic impacts of dust storms in Sistan Region, Iran 351

Figure 8. Frequency of respiratory patients referred to Zabol hospital during 2003–2004.During the years 2003–2004, 533 respiratory patients were admitted to the hospital. Eachpatient was hospitalized for 7 days, on an average, and spent US$150. The cumulativeamount in two years is US $600 million.

4.3. Costs of school breaks

Sand particles arising from the storm affected schools in several ways, causing teachers andpupils to take leave or cause late attendance, disrupting classes due to discomfort, hamperingserious study and restricting movement (figure 9).Figure 9. Sand accumulation in a school and in the front of classrooms.The number of schools that were closed because of dust storms during 2000–2004 isshown in table 7.

The total costs incurred for cleaning schools using heavy vehicles (figure 10) after eachstorm exceeded US$200,000 annually, amounting to one million US dollars over the five-year period between 2000 and 2004.Figure 10. Sand evacuation from schools.

4.4. Clean-up operations after storms in residential areas

Dust particles shifted by dust storms cause substantial damage to residential areas. Whenwind blows, sand particles accumulate behind walls. Gradually sands mounds build up andbury houses. The situation is critical in places directly in the path of the dust storm, as inKhoshdad and Khaleghda villages (figure 11).Figure 11. The villages exposed to dust storms are shown by arrows.Figure 12. Sand accumulation in a residential area.

Figure 8. Frequency of respiratory patients referred to Zabol hospital during 2003–2004.

Figure 9. Sand accumulation in a school and in the front of classrooms.

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Thirteen villages with 550 houses are located directly in the path of sand movement, andneed intensive cleaning up after storms. The cost of evacuating sand from residential areas isestimated at 1.3–1.5 US$/m3. The number of village that have had extensive sand cleaningoperations is shown in table 8, with cost estimates.

Table 7. The number of school holidays due to dust storms and their damages during 2000–2004

AreaNumber of school days

declared holidaysThe number

of breaksDamage amount during

2000–2004 (×1000 US$)

Zabol city 228 2 34.4Poshte Ab 120 20 113Shibe Ab 13 15 112.6Sharaki and Naroi 137 2 23.6Markasi 5 15 3.014Miankangi 12 55 37.8Total 623 – 324.414

Figure 10. Sand evacuation from schools.

Figure 11. The villages exposed to dust storms are shown by arrows.

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Environmental and socio-economic impacts of dust storms in Sistan Region, Iran 353

Dust particles shifted by intensive dust storms result in the erosion of buildings, espe-cially those built in mud and adobe which is a very common building material in the region.Over a period of time mud walls thin and fall. Hitherto, 3600 houses have been damaged,of which 2520 houses that have suffered 30–40% damages need to be rebuilt and 1080houses need repair and renovation. The costs of damage to residential houses is shown intable 9.

4.5. Cost of regular additional cleaning needed in houses and damage tohousehold equipment

The dust shifted in each dust storm comes down on the city surface. Some 30–40% of thedust that sits on the ground enters into houses and needs regular cleaning. The surveyresponse showed that each person spends roughly four hours cleaning up his/her house,

Figure 12. Sand accumulation in a residential area.

Table 8. Sand aggregation in villages and expenses incurred in evacuating sand

YearVillages affected by

sand aggregationVolume of sand in lanes and houses (×1000 m3)

Expenditure incurred for sand evacuation (×1000 US$)

2000 89 280 4032001 125 400 6002002 96 340 4802003 127 450 6502004 220 650 880Total – 1840 3013

Table 9. The type and amount of damage costs to houses during 2000–2004

Damage type NumberExpenses incurred to repair

each unit (×1000 US$)Expenses incurred to rebuild

each unit (×1000 US$)Total expenses (×1000 US$)

Houses repaired 1080 0.2 – 216Houses rebuilt 2520 – 10 7560Total – – – 7776

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354 A. Miri et al.

increasing cost of cleaning by 50%. Some 74% of the respondents pointed to dust as thecause of decrease in household equipment life and damage to electronic equipment.

On an average each family reported spending roughly 100 US dollars in repairing thegoods. Ninety-nine percent of the respondents indicated that dust storms increase waterconsumption. The expenses spent for cleaning up the houses are summarized in table 10.

5. Conclusion

The damage caused by dust storms in damage centres in Zabol region during 2000–2004 isshown in table 11.

The total damage costs from dust storm during 2000–2004 in the Zabol region were esti-mated at US$1213.976 million. The highest costs involved house cleaning operations, andthe lowest related to enforced breaks in schooling (enforced holidays).

The total damage resulting from dust storms is a sum of the damages to different sectionsof the community. The current practice is to pay compensation costs to families and organisa-tions. But in light of the fact that this catastrophic phenomenon is recurring with increasingfrequency, it seems wiser to control it by combating desertification of the land, before it getsout of hand. In the final analysis, the costs of containing and preventing the disaster are muchless than the tangible and intangible social costs in the aftermath of the storms.

Research is being done in Iran [22–25] to find ways to combat desertification and tocontrol the dust storms at their point of origin. Some of the major approaches to control duststorms and wind erosion are through fixation of sand dunes and creation of green belts usingnative plants such as Tamarix, Atripelex, Haloxylon, Stipagrostis, Citrullus Colocynthis,Sasola and Eucalyptus, as well as other practices such as land management, better farming

Table 10. Type and amount of damage costs for cleaning up of houses during 2000–2004

Damage typeDamage cost to

each family (US$)Cumulative damage cost to all families (×1000 US$)

Cleaning up and washing houses and household items

100 33,000

Costs of repairing electrical equipment 100 33,000Costs of water consumption 30 9900Total costs 75,900

Table 11. Cumulative damage costs of dust storms in Zabol region during 2000–2004

Damage centreDamage

percentage (%)Damage costs (×1000 US$)

Roads 4.5 5636Community health 24.99 31,200School breaks (enforced holidays) 1.06 1324Sand aggregation in residential areas 8.66 10,789House cleaning and repairs 60.79 75,900Total 100 124,849

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Environmental and socio-economic impacts of dust storms in Sistan Region, Iran 355

approaches and soil conservation programs as. Since the Hamoun lake is the origin of duststorms in the studied region [21], it has been the focus for measures to contain and control thestorms through creation of green belts along its shoreline. Regeneration of the dried lake bedarea is a more complex issue.

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