2018 global dust storm

2018 global dust storm
Name	2018 global dust storm
Caption	Regional aerosol plume during the 2018 event
Date	Mid-2018
Location	Sahara Desert, Sahel, Arabian Peninsula, Indian Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, South America, Pacific
Type	Atmospheric dust storm, aerosol event
Impact	Reduced solar radiation, ecosystem deposition, health impacts

2018 global dust storm was an extensive atmospheric aerosol event in mid-2018 that transported mineral dust from major source regions across intercontinental pathways, influencing climate, weather, ecosystems, and human health. The event involved dust mobilization from the Sahara Desert, Sahel, Himalaya, Taklamakan Desert, and Arabian Peninsula, with plumes traveling across the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific regions, affecting air quality in urban centers and remote islands.

Background and causes

Strong surface winds over the Sahara Desert, driven by the seasonal migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone, interacted with synoptic systems such as the African easterly jet and amplifying Mediterranean cyclone activity linked to the North Atlantic Oscillation. Land-surface conditions influenced by the Sahel drought legacy, episodic precipitation associated with the West African Monsoon, and land-use changes in the Sahel enhanced erodibility. Remote forcing from tropical cyclones like Beryl and convective systems related to the Madden–Julian oscillation modulated uplift, while upper-level dynamics associated with the Jet stream and Rossby waves facilitated long-range transport toward the Caribbean Sea, Amazon Basin, and even the Caribbean Plate peripheries.

Chronology and geographic extent

Initial major outbreaks originated over northern Mali, Mauritania, and Algeria and intensified with subsequent pulses from Chad, Sudan, and the Horn of Africa; plumes crossed the Mediterranean Sea to affect Spain, Portugal, and southern France. Trans-Atlantic transport delivered dust to the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico and the Lesser Antilles, and further into the Amazon rainforest of Brazil and Colombia. Simultaneously, Asian source regions such as the Taklamakan Desert and Gobi Desert contributed to events reaching China, South Korea, and Japan, while Arabian emissions impacted Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and India. Remote deposition was recorded on Iceland and parts of the North Atlantic, indicating interbasin connectivity documented by observations from platforms operated by European Space Agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

Atmospheric and climatic impacts

Aerosol loads elevated columnar aerosol optical depth measured by instruments aboard Terra and Aqua equipped with MODIS sensors and by CALIPSO lidar, altering radiative fluxes at the surface and top-of-atmosphere. Reduced solar insolation influenced surface temperatures over affected regions, interacting with teleconnections linked to the El Niño–Southern Oscillation and altering convective patterns relevant to Monsoon of 2018 variability. Dust deposition supplied bioavailable iron and phosphorus to oceanic regions, affecting primary productivity monitored by the Argo program and shipborne surveys coordinated with institutions such as National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Aerosol interactions with cloud microphysics influenced precipitation efficiency, a subject of analyses by the World Meteorological Organization and modeling centers including the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Environmental and health effects

Deposition of mineral dust altered soil chemistry in ecosystems from the Amazon rainforest to the Caribbean and Mediterranean basins, with implications for nutrient cycling studied by researchers at Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry. Visibility reductions and hazardous particulate matter concentrations exacerbated air quality in urban areas such as Lisbon, Madrid, Athens, Doha, Dubai, and New Delhi, prompting advisories from agencies including European Environment Agency and United States Environmental Protection Agency. Elevated PM10 and PM2.5 correlated with respiratory and cardiovascular admissions recorded in hospitals affiliated with institutions such as King's College London, Mayo Clinic, and All India Institute of Medical Sciences. Ecosystem stress affected coral reefs near Caribbean reef systems and triggered algal responses in the North Atlantic monitored by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Monitoring, observation, and modeling

Satellite remote sensing by MODIS on Terra and Aqua, VIIRS sensors, and lidar from CALIPSO documented plume evolution, supplemented by ground-based networks including AERONET and shipborne transects coordinated with GEOTRACES. Data assimilation systems at operational centers such as European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and National Centers for Environmental Prediction ingested aerosol observations into chemical transport models like GEOS-Chem, WRF-Chem, and COSMO-MUSCAT to simulate emissions, transport, and deposition. Paleoclimate proxies from Loess Plateau studies and sediment cores from the Amazon Basin provided context for the event's magnitude relative to Holocene variability considered by researchers at University of Cambridge and University of Cologne.

Response and mitigation efforts

Public health responses were coordinated by national ministries of health in affected countries and international bodies such as the World Health Organization issuing exposure guidance and advice for vulnerable populations. Aviation advisories referenced by the International Civil Aviation Organization and national air traffic services mitigated flight disruptions. Research collaborations across universities including University of Oxford, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Peking University, and Australian National University advanced modeling and observation strategies, while land management initiatives in the Sahel and Sahara Desert fringe areas—supported by programs from the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and Food and Agriculture Organization—aimed to reduce dust source susceptibility through vegetation restoration and sustainable practices.

Category:Dust storms