The sky is red. The air is thick. Sand, dust, and other particles pollute the air, making it difficult to breathe. Those are the conditions that people living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) experienced on Wednesday, May 18, 2022 when a sandstorm struck in Dubai and Abu Dhabi (1).

Major sandstorms are not uncommon in the Middle East. This April, several large-scale sandstorms ravaged parts of Iraq and Iran, seriously affecting air quality, and causing problems for the local citizenry (2).

Millions of homes have been covered in choking, obstructing dust. Flights have been grounded, schools have been closed, and thousands have been hospitalized.

Poor air quality seen in the Persian Gulf and Middle East on May 18, 2022.

Sandstorm occurrences in the area are increasing, due to drought, changing weather due to climate change, and soil degradation. Predictions are that this phenomenon will only get worse over the coming years (3).

Dubai weather and air quality turns dangerous

On May 18th, cities in the UAE were blasted by these extreme weather conditions. Dubai and Abu Dhabi became engulfed in a dusty haze, visual evidence to the naked eye that air quality is severely compromised.

Hazardous and very unhealthy air quality seen across UAE.

By Wednesday evening, nearly all air quality monitoring stations in Dubai and Abu Dhabi measured dangerously high concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5. PM10 is particle pollution like sand measuring 10 micrometers in diameter. PM2.5 – particles 2.5 micrometers in diameter and the pollutant most harmful to human health – consists of finer particles, such as dust, soot, viruses, and bacteria.

Dubai’s air quality monitors show elevated levels of PM.

Air quality monitors register hazardous levels across most of Dubai.

Dubai’s average city-wide concentration of PM10 was 784.7 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m³), representing hazardous air quality. PM2.5 measured 94.5 µg/m³, or 18.9 times above the guideline set by the World Health Organization (WHO) for healthy air quality, an annual average guideline value of PM2.5 of 5 µg/m³ or less.

In Abu Dhabi, the air quality index range (AQI) in the area exceeded 352 (within the “unhealthy” air quality range), and recorded PM2.5 concentrations approximately 60.5 times higher than the WHO annual air quality guideline value.

A sandstorm in Abu Dhabi elevates poor air quality across the city.

Dr. Christi Chester Schroeder, Air Quality Science Manager at IQAir, expressed concern over such high PM concentrations. “There is clear scientific evidence that both short- and long-term exposure to elevated concentrations of PM2.5, such as those being experienced in Dubai and Abu Dhabi right now, pose a significant risk to human health.”

The takeaway

The severity of the UAE sandstorm emphasizes the value of comprehensive, up-to-date, transparent air quality information. The more data points, the better, and increasing the number of data monitors across the globe provides greater insight into the air we are breathing.

Air quality monitoring also delivers alerts of severe air quality events around the world, from wildfires in California to sandstorms in Dubai. This empowers citizens to make choices in the best interests of themselves and their families and ultimately lessen their exposure to air pollution.