Effects of climate change on dust storm occurrence in Kermanshah Province, Iran.

Aims: The climate change consequences are more severe in semiarid regions in the form of drought, desertification, and dust occurrence. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of climatic changes on dust occurrence and sand mobility in Kermanshah province, Iran. Materials Methods: The meteorological stations from 1992 to 2017 were selected within Kermanshah province. The trend of climate changes was analyzed by using the MannKendall model. Furthermore, the dust storm index (DSI) method was used to study the frequency and severity of dust phenomenon. Findings: The results explored that the highest precipitation is occurred in March and November in this province. DSI index was found higher value in Islamabad, Kermanshah, and Kangavar than that other station, mainly in the west of the province, occurring in in 2008 and the lowest values were in 2010 and 2013. The average wind speed was 4.6 ms1, while the highest winds with more than 6 ms1 speed and dominant west and southwest directions are occurred in the western part of the province. Consequently, the annual dust rose was western. Furthermore, the highest amount of dust with 175 days occurred in Saprobe Zahab (west of the province), which was mostly related to spring and summer seasons. Lancaster index explored that the sand mobility potential was prevalent in the southwestern (along to Iraq border) Conclusion: The dust incidence is affected by climate change. Thus, maintaining vegetation and controlling land use change is essential management approach to adapting climate change in this region.