Blinding dust storm hits Kuwait by Frances Runnalls
A blinding dust storm hit Kuwait on Tuesday, forcing the closure of three of the Gulf’s main ports and disrupting the local air traffic. The country’s lack of rainfall this winter enabled the loosely packed sand of the Arabian Desert to be easily transported by the winds.
The predominant wind blowing across Iraq and the Persian Gulf is the shamal wind, which typically leads to the formation of dust storms. Wind speeds of up to 40kph (25mph) created the dust storm, which although a relatively common speed, when combined with a lack of moisture enables dust grains to be picked up. The storm reduced visibility at Kuwait’s airport to less than 300m (0.2 miles), spreading to neighbouring Iraq.
The Arabian Desert covers much of Kuwait, however dust storms are quite rare in winter, and are most common in the summer when temperatures exceed 50C (122F). The dust storm on Tuesday was the second one to hit Kuwait over the past four days, with the country’s meteorological department forecasting the storms to continue until Friday.
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