Numerical simulation of the 18 February 2017 frontal dust storm over southwest of Iran using WRF-Chem, satellite imagery, and PM10 concentrations

In the past two decades, dust storms in the Middle East have caused many problems for people in the south and southwest regions of Iran. During this period, there has been an increase in the trend of strong dust storm activities in this region, even in non-summer seasons. In this research, the February 18, 2017 frontal dust storm over the Khuzestan province of Iran is studied in detail. Satellite images, synoptic data, PM10 data, aerosol index, and numerical simulation were used to analyze the event. The simulation results indicated that about 1.2 Tg of dust was emitted from the simulation area between 17–18 February 2017. About 0.2 Tg of the emitted dust was deposited in the simulation area during 17–18 February. Comparing the emission and deposition amounts showed that although the Khuzestan province had a contribution of about 1% to the total dust emission, it hosted about 16% of the total dry deposition. These results show that the main sources of dust in the Khuzestan province are external and it requires international cooperation and management.