Dust Storm Causes Record Air Pollution

Charity Davenport
9/25/09
12:42 pm

According to a Brisbane Times article posted on September 23, 2009, a dust storm swarmed New South Wales and southern Queensland of Australia. The dust storm caused air pollution levels to rise 1,500 times their normal levels—which makes it the highest recorded level on record. Strong winds hit North South Wales on Tuesday, and dust swept up from those areas swarmed through the state. The principal research scientist with the North South Wales Department of Climate Change and Water, Dr. John Leys, said that dust storms were common in rural areas. He stated that even though they happen regularly, they rarely travel that far east. The storm stretched 600km along the NSW coast to the Queensland border, leaving 75,000 tons of dust per hour into the Tasman Sea. The manager of atmospheric science, Chris Eiser, said that measurements showed the highest level of particle concentration on record. A normal day would see about 10 micrograms of particles per cubic meter of air, but on Wednesday, levels reached an all time high of 15,400 micrograms per cubic meter of air at one location.

I found this article to be both intriguing and sad. Being that I live in a place where dust storms do not normally occur, I have never known the effects of it. It is astonishing that the air pollution levels reached such high numbers. It makes me wonder what kind of an affect and impact that it had on the people who live in those areas. Since dust storms were not common in those areas, I’m pretty sure that the people who lived there were not really expecting it or prepared for it to come their way. I really wish that there was something that could be done to prevent this from happening again.

http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/breaking-news-national/dust-storm-causes-record-air-pollution-20090923-g29c.html