health

Sandstorms pose serious risk to human health

7 Comments
By Isabelle CORTES

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The sandstorms' frequency and intensity could worsen because of climate change, say some scientists.

Unfortunately this possibility is what can make developed countries actually try and do something about it, if the majority of the victims are countries still in development the priority to act is very low, but once it begins to affect lots of rich countries suddenly it becomes a problem of importance.

The worst thing is that efforts to reduce the effects in public health will become more and more difficult and expensive the more actions are delayed.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

I lived in Egypt a number of years and remember sandstorms very well. They are extremely unpleasant.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Unfortunately this possibility is what can make developed countries actually try and do something about it,

Dude, developed nations like the US have had big sandstorms like this since they were founded. It is part of life in the desert. Places like Phoenix Arizona get smothered by massive "Haboobs" with some frequency. My insurance just repainted and replaced most of the windows and headlights on our van after it was sandblasted in a desert sand storm so bad we were down to about 40 kph creeping along in low visibility while you could hear the rocks cracking off the sides of the van and the windows. In the first 25 km we saw four big semi trailers and two fifth wheel travel trailers blown over. Further down the road another two semis and four more contractor or personal travel trailers were flipped over by the wind. The dirt gets in your nose and mouth. Even with windows and doors closed it finds ways to get into your home and piles up in little dunes. Annoyingly if manages to get into the air conditioning of the car so when the fan is on it's blowing sand out of the dashboard vents. If you can, you stay indoors because everyone out here knows breathing that stuff isn't healthy but that day we had no choice. You have to have a hard shell like a Desert Tortoise to thrive in the desert. But sandstorms are as old as the desert.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Describing a real possibility based on scientific studies is not fear mongering, people can make better decisions thanks to that, the only ones in fear are those that systematically reject science and any knowledge that threatens the way they need reality to be.

Textbook fearmongering,

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/fearmongering

What kind of better decisions would these people hypothetically make? You leave out that detail in place of a broad generalization.

Here's a tip---if you see a sandstorm brewing outside, stay in.

-6 ( +0 / -6 )

If you feel fear from a well balanced article that simply makes information accessible and easy to understand then the problem is not the article nor the site that lets people read it but yourself. People will call fear mongering to anything they don't want to hear, even if nobody ever feel any fear from reading it.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Here's a tip---if you see a sandstorm brewing outside, stay in.

Your boss tells you if you don't go outside and come to work you're fired, you are going to go outside. Or you have a job that requires that you do at least some of your work outside, like making deliveries and pick ups in a truck, construction or farming. How about police and firefighters? Stay at home? Sure thing.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

There are no sandstorms in Japan, but some people are suffering from yellow dust, so I understand the difficulty of sandstorms. Even dust storms, which are less toxic, are serious problem for people who have poor respiratory systems, including their lungs. Furthermore, if sandstorm continues, even people with strong lungs may become weak because they cannot breathe clean air. In addition, the poor visibility affects the eyes, and it also seems to be very painful if they hit the body. I think it is difficult to improve a sandstorm because it does not destroy buildings temporarily like a tsunami, but it affects our behavior continuously. I've seen a movie in which a sandstorm develops and crops on the earth decrease. I think it represents future of the earth today. At this rate, sandstorm will decrease crops on the earth and cause a food crisis.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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