Turkey to forecast dust storms for Mauritania, Senegal

By Zehra Aydın Turapoglu

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's State Meteorological Service on Saturday included Mauritania and Senegal in the service area of Sand and Dust Storm Warning Advisory and Assessment System (SDS-WAS).

The system was established to forecast sand and dust storms in Turkey and Middle East and African countries.

Director General Ismail Gunes told Anadolu Agency that dust mobilization, mostly triggered by drought and desertification, was of great importance for the world ecology.

Gunes said that Africa, Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, America and Australia regions were the main source of sand and dust in the world, emitting about two billion tons of dust per year, due to their deserts and drought lands.

"Saharan region single-handedly emits half of this amount, followed by the Arab Peninsula which also hosts many deserts," Gunes said.

"Turkey is located in Mediterranean Basin, which is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change," he added, pointing out that two degrees Celsius increase in temperature might lead to adverse weather conditions, heat waves, forest fires and loss of tourism.

Gunes went on to assert that both the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Turkey's General Directorate of Meteorology reports indicated that the Mediterranean Basin and Turkey would have hotter, more drought and volatile climate patterns in the future.

"The number of the sand and dust storms are expected to rise according to IPCC reports. We established SDS-WAS in order to take necessary steps against possible occurrences. The Middle East particularly lacks enough observation facilities for sand and dust storms," he said.