They are known by many names: Haboob, Simum, Black
Blizzards. A solid wall of dust almost a mile high, moving whole sand
dunes and bringing Biblical darkness to the huge areas of the world.
Scorching hot winds (up to 40 degrees Celsius) blowing the sand around
with hurricane speeds... What seems extreme to us is actually a common
occurrence in Africa and the Middle East. The similar sand-saturated
hurricane-speed storms over Mediterranian are called Sirocco, Yugo and
Ghibli. The dust (or desert sand) particles become airborne and held in
suspension, creating a moving front. The convection of cold air over the
heated ground maintains the storm and keeps the dust rolling.
See
one such storm coming into the Israeli Negev desert from Sinai
(advancing with the speed of appr. 40 mph). According to the
photographer Eviathar ben Zedeff (link), the sand wall is over 4,000 ft
high:
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| Dust Storm Israeli Negev Desert |
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| Dust Storm Israeli Negev Desert |
Sand Storm in Khartoum, Sudan:
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| Sand Storm in Khartoum, Sudan |
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| Sand Storm in Khartoum, Sudan |
Here is an alarming fact: sand storms now happen ten times more frequently
than fifty years ago. For example, Mauritania had only two storms per
year in the early Sixties, now it's more like EIGHTY a year. Sahara's
sand is also being sent into the Atlantic at an accelerated pace (five
times growth in one year, since 2006!) - however, this could be a good
thing, according to Wikipedia, as it will cool off the ocean enough to
slightly ease the ongoing 2007 hurricane season.
Dust covers Astana, the new capital of Kazakhstan:
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| Dust covers Astana, the new capital of Kazakhstan |
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| Dust covers Astana, the new capital of Kazakhstan |
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| Storm in Phoenix, Arizona, USA |
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| The lamplighters brave the dust storm in Nevada desert |
The next picture may look like an incoming dust storm, but it is just a cloud front.
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| Cloud Front Australian Outback |
Source : http://www.funonthenet.in
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