You can often see them coming. The severe ones are unpleasant to walk in. Young and colleague Peter Williams recently completed a study of dust storms for South Australia showing that these stinging clouds can have a major impact on health, industry and infrastructure. The northern part of South Australia can experience up to 60 days of severe dust a year. The most substantial costs of dust storms are related to health issues, principally asthma and respiratory disease.
Dust obscures the sky in Adelaide, the largest city in South Australia.
Road accidents caused by dust storms are another expensive problem. Homeowners in South Australia lucky enough to avoid property damage from dust storms still face clean-up costs. The storms also impact municipal transportation agencies, electric utilities and aviation companies. The aviation industry had also sometimes found it necessary to divert flights. The researchers call for further research specific to South Australia to confirm the relationship between wind erosion, dust storms and asthma and respiratory health.