Analyzing the trend of changes in the dust index (DSI) and its relationship with the meteorological drought in the arid climate (case study: Semnan province)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Research Institute, Semnan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Semnan, Iran.

2 Semnan University student

10.48308/envs.2024.1369

Abstract

Dust is a common phenomenon in arid and semi-arid regions. This phenomenon has a negative impact on agriculture, water and soil pollution, respiratory diseases and environmental and social challenges. In addition, this phenomenon results in reduced visibility and traffic accidents. Climate change has had a major impact on the environment, in this study, the temporal distribution of dust storms in Semnan province from 2003 to 2017 was made by examining the available data from five synoptic stations and investigating the relationship between them. Standard precipitation index and dust storms were performed using Excel software and linear regression, then Arc GIS software was used for zoning. Including the drying up of lakes and rivers, which caused crises like sandstorms. One of the factors affecting the occurrence of this phenomenon is the change in weather conditions, which leads to drought. The purpose of this study was to find out the relationship between DSI dust index and SPI standardized precipitation aridity in the arid climate of the country, which was conducted as a case study in Semnan province. Based on the normal SPI index, Semnan province is in the normal drought category with a rating of 0.59. A close analysis of the correlation plot between standard precipitation indices and DSI shows that DSI increased concurrently with drought severity during the study period. However, there was no significant correlation between DSI and SPI over the 15-year study period, as indicated by P-Value = 0.07 and R2 = 0.22. In addition, the DSI trend pattern is consistent with the standard precipitation index trend.

Keywords

Environmental Sciences

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 11 March 2024

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