Saudi Arabia to invest $10m in sandstorm warning system

Saudi Arabia will invest $10 million over the next five years to support its global sand and dust storm monitoring initiative.

The initiative, launched through its United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Cop16 presidency, will expand on existing international sand and dust storm capacity, overseen by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).

Two billion tonnes of sand and dust enter the atmosphere every year, according to the UNCCD, equivalent in weight to 350 Great Pyramids of Giza. Over 25 percent is estimated to be due to human activity.

Based in Jeddah, the Sand and Dust Storm Warning Advisory and Assessment System has increased the number of global WMO-affiliated nodes to four, part of an international network including Beijing, Barcelona and Barbados.

Jumaan Al-Qahtani, CEO, GCC regional Sand and Dust Storms Warning Advisory and Assessment Node, Jeddah, said that the centre developed three models with different resolutions that have been validated to predict sand and dust storms in the region.

“They are all now in operation,” he said, urging other UN organisations and countries to support the initiative.

The initiative comes after Saudi Arabia launched the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership at the beginning of Cop16, which has already secured $2.15 billion in financial backing.

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“Over 1.8 billion people are impacted by drought, with this number forecast to accelerate,” said Dr Osama Faqeeha, deputy minister for environment, ministry of environment, water and agriculture, and Advisor to the UNCCD Cop16 presidency.

The initiative targets 80 of the most vulnerable countries to drought, he said.

The UNCCD Cop16 conference is taking place from December 2-13 in Riyadh and aims to secure multilateral action on critical issues such as drought resilience, land tenure, and sand and dust storms.