The impact of environmental degradation and climate change on dust in Khuzestan province, Iran

Human activities and climate change have resulted in environmental degradation and increased environmental hazards globally. In Khuzestan province, such hazards have included droughts, heat waves, and dust storms occurring more frequently. To understand the factors contributing to the dust storms, this study evaluated changes in rainfall, air temperature maximum and minimum, and soil temperature (1985–2019), as well as land cover, land surface temperature, and water bodies in 2017 (drought) and 2019 (wet year). The findings of the principal component analysis indicate a reduction in annual water bodies, spring vegetation, and water bodies in the spring, summer, and autumn seasons. The increase in air and land surface temperature accounts for 95% of the variance in dust in the Khuzestan province. Field surveys suggest that various human activities such as hydro dam building, crude oil drilling, extracting crude oil wells in lagoons, changes in farmland use, and water transfer among water basins have intensified the phenomena in the region under study. To manage this critical issue more effectively, it is recommended to review and assess local policies regarding regional ecology and establish cooperative agreements with regional countries such as Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia which all experience similar natural disasters.