Iran to host regional conference to combat dust storms

Iran to host regional conference to combat dust storms

kurdsatnews

Jul 6, 2022

Dust storm over Iraq and the Middle East, April 7, 2022.

In a letter to his Middle Eastern counterparts, Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said, "While standing ready for bilateral technical cooperation toward containing the dust particles, the Islamic Republic of Iran calls for the signing of a relevant regional convention, with the participation of the United Nations and its specialized agencies, particularly the United Nations Environment Program and the World Health Organization."

According to an IRNA report from Iran's Environmental Protection Organization, the vice president and head of the Environmental Protection Organization arrived in Kuwait at the head of the technical-diplomatic delegation to conclude and operationalize the agreements to deal with dust storms.

In a meeting with high-ranking Kuwaiti officials, Ali Selajgeh emphasized regional cooperation to deal with dust and implement the regional action plan.

A memorandum of understanding on dust storms was signed between the Environmental Protection Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the General Competent Authority of the Environment of the Government of Kuwait.

One of the most critical aspects of this cooperation is holding seminars, conferences, and joint meetings, exchanging visits of experts and scientists in the field of dust storms, forming a special working group and sharing knowledge, exchanging experiences in the field of management, adaptation and dealing with dust storms, as well as using the experiences of existing international centers in the field of early warning and forecasting of dust storms.

Since 2022, frequent dust storms are covering the skies of the Middle East, the acute dust storms stall everyday life and regular economic activity as the Middle Eastern economies are recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.

In early 2022, NASA initiated a project to document daily satellite images of Middle East skies covered in khaki dust and monitor dust storms' emergence and spread.

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