Spatio-temporal patterns of dust storms and population exposure across land use and land cover types

Dust storms are driven by land-atmosphere interaction that transport dust and sand particles over vast distances. Dust storms have far-reaching impacts on air quality, ecosystems and human health, that affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide each year. Recognizing the importance of mitigating dust storm events and impacts, the United Nations has declared 2025-2034 as the Decade on Combating Sand and Dust Storms. However, a comprehensive understanding of the global distribution, seasonality, and land-surface controls of dust storm events remains limited, largely due to the lack of consistent ground-based, long-term, globally measured datasets.

NASA’s Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) satellite provides a valuable global record of dust indicators, and analyzing these data enables large-scale tracking of where dust storm events occur and how their intensity evolves over time. In this study we analyze monthly dust storm data of AIRS satellite from 2003 to 2023 to show the global spatiotemporal trends in dust storms. In addition to mapping the spatial and temporal distribution of these events, we estimate the population affected by dust storms each year and assessed the intensity and frequency of these events across different land cover types. The study enables a better understanding of the regions and populations most at risk and provides valuable insights for policymakers and planners to develop strategies for mitigating the impacts of dust storms on human health, agriculture, and infrastructure.