Shortly after rain improved the poor air quality in Khuzestan, more dust was predicted to trouble the province once again this week.
The oil-rich province was enveloped in a thick cloud of dust over the past week, which reached emergency levels and led to the closure of schools and offices.
On Thursday and Friday, the province experienced healthy air quality but Iran Meteorological Organization forecast that it will not endure, ISNA reported.
The area is affected by dust blowing from both domestic and foreign sources, but experts believe that the wintertime storms originate from hotspots inside the country. A system of airflow known as southern winds is blamed for the phenomenon at this time of the year.
The most prevalent winds in the region are those that blow from the west, pass through Iraq and Syria and reach Iran carrying particles with them. But there is also another system that blows from Saudi Arabia and enters Iran after crossing over the Persian Gulf and gaining speed.
According to Ziaeddin Shoaei, an expert on soil protection and watershed management, this system activates the domestic sources such as the desiccated wetlands in the southeast of Ahvaz and creates dust storms in the winter.
"The dust pollution last week was definitely caused by this wind and originated from domestic sources," he said.
Based on the study of wind models and meteorological data, the southern wind is likely to blow more than 20 times within a year.
Therefore, "the chances are high that dust storms recur during the remaining days of the current Iranian year (ending March 20)".
According to Shoaei, storms originating from outside the country are greater in number, but those rising domestically are often stronger.
"The phenomenon that occurred last February was a typical example of storms from domestic sources that was very severe and even led to power outages," he said.
Plans to combat dust storms such as expanding vegetation, dampening dried lands and mulching are being implemented, but progress is low.
Shoaei said these measures are not expected to have a considerable effect in the short run, even if they continue as planned.
"The speed at which the phenomenon is growing is much higher than the progress of measures," he regretted, but hoped that with the cooperation of all relevant bodies, several million hectares of dust storm hotspots in the country will be controlled in four years.
The concentration of dust particles is predicted to decline with rains beginning late Sunday.
