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Dust to Dust

May 4, 2018
Have you ever experienced a dust storm? I have, only once, decades ago in northern Texas. I recall that, from inside my home, the dust looked like a wall of yellow, moving slowly in our direction. The winds must not have been terribly strong; nothing was dislodged or knocked down. I've always loved storms of any kind, and thought it was pretty exciting.

There was a very powerful dust storm in northern India two days ago. Reports says 125 people were killed, and almost 200 injured. The storm struck at night, resulting in the high number of casualties. This, and the fact that the wind blew in an intense downward direction, demolishing buildings and knocking down trees in its wake. As is frequently the case with storms of this variety, it followed a period of extraordinarily high temperatures. Nearby, across the border in Pakistan,  the town of Nawabshah had just suffered through temperatures reported at 122F.

Astonishingly, there are supposed to have been 41,000 lightning strikes, accompanied by winds reaching 80 mph. Imagine the destruction that could be caused in a more electricity dependent country by 41,000 lightning strikes! The three districts of Alwar, Bharatpur, and Dholpur in Rajasthan were allegedly the hardest hit, with mud homes, trees, and power poles obliterated. Horrifyingly, another round of storms is expected next Monday and Tuesday.

In studying another catastrophic storm, this one covering seven nations in the Middle East back in 2015, researchers at Princeton have concluded that changing climate is responsible for the increasing number and severity of dust storms. According to forbes.com, the American Southwest is now subjected to more dust storms than before. In India, there are increasing concerns regarding advancing desertification. While the government admits to 25 percent of India turning to desert, independent experts say the figure is far larger. This increase is expected to lead to more intense and damaging dust storms. We know so much, we do so little about it.



With my thanks to bbc.com, accuweather.com, forbes.com, and princeton.edu.

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