The number of episodes of this type in the country has multiplied by more than 10 in the last 30 years, also creating problems for the economy and the health of the population. According to research commissioned by the World Bank, dust storms cause the premature death of 78 people per 100,000 inhabitants in Tajikistan, a figure only lower than that of Uzbekistan in Central Asia.
Dushanbe () – In recent years, the interest of scholars and ecologists in the phenomenon of dust dispersion has grown, a seasonal meteorological phenomenon in Asia that has an increasingly worrying influence on the level of the Earth’s atmosphere, due to the progressive desertification of many areas and pollution, especially in Central Asia. In Tajikistan, the number of dust storm episodes has multiplied by more than 10 in the last 30 years, also creating problems for the economy and the health of the population.
Cabar.asia (Central Asian Bureau for Analytical Reporting) expert Muazama Burkhanova explains that “it is not possible to avoid these events, but it is possible to find and introduce methods to adapt and reduce the effects of dust terrorism.” In 2023, the UN General Assembly declared July 12 “International Day to Combat Dust and Sandstorms”, with the purpose of disseminating information and possible actions to counteract these phenomena.
In March 2024, the UN proposed to all Member States to exchange knowledge and methods of action in this area, in order to reduce the negative consequences in the social and economic sphere and on the entire ecosystem, health and well-being of people, paying more attention to the most exposed. Dust storms are linked to other climate change problems, such as droughts, extreme temperatures, soil degradation, changing rainfall patterns and wind roses.
In Tajikistan, work on this problem began in 2007, when the first publications on the topic appeared by specialists from the Physical-Technical Institute of the National Academy of Sciences. According to data from the Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics, the southern and central parts of the country are located right in the center of the global dust belt from the Aralkum, Kyzylkum, Karakum, Gobi, Takla-Makan and Iranian Dashti Lut deserts. and Dashti Kabir, as well as the drying up of the Aral Sea. Tajik mountain ranges and cities are often choked with dust, causing severe disruption for increasingly long periods of days and even months, although storms themselves can dissipate in a matter of minutes.
According to data from research commissioned by the World Bank, health damage causes the premature death of 78 people per 100,000 inhabitants of Tajikistan, a figure only lower than that of Uzbekistan in Central Asia, but even more serious for social life. of the country, which has just over 10 million inhabitants, compared to 35 million Uzbeks. The causes of death of almost 5,000 people are linked to air pollution and include cardiac ischemia and heart attacks, also taking into account the negative factor of ozone in the atmosphere.
Health costs in Tajikistan exceed 4% of GDP, and many negative effects are also being felt in the loss of agricultural crops and the increasingly rapid melting of mountain glaciers. At Cop28, held in Dubai in 2023, the 151 participating countries approved for the first time a declaration on climate and health, placing the latter at the center of everyone’s attention. Broader monitoring of dust storms, with more advanced forecasting systems, is essential, especially to alert farmers and take necessary protective measures, in connection with health personnel. The loss of health due to polluted air has serious consequences for the younger generations, the growth of poverty, the increase in “climate refugees” and, in general, the depletion of the population’s genetic reserves.
Especially urgent in Tajikistan is the need for reforestation, as it is a crucial sector in the nation’s economy. Forests contribute to biodiversity and the improvement of air and water quality by slowing the erosion of the earth’s layers. The Dushanbe government has dedicated many decrees and measures to this, in the so-called “Forest Sector Development Strategy for 2016-2030”, hoping that it is not too late.
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