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Saudi Arabia Stresses Importance of International Cooperation to Confront Effects of Sand Storms on Development

Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture logo
Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture logo
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Saudi Arabia Stresses Importance of International Cooperation to Confront Effects of Sand Storms on Development

Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture logo
Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture logo

Deputy Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Dr. Osama Ibrahim Faqeeha led the Saudi delegation to a high-level working session on dust and sand storms, held alongside the 21st meeting of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Faqeeha emphasized the local, regional and global impact of dust and sand storms on economic and social development, as well as on health and environment, highlighting the need for international and regional cooperation to implement strategies, plans, initiatives, activities and programs to reduce the effects of these storms.

The committee's meeting, which took place from November 13 to November 17, reviewed national reports from 126 state parties.

Participants discussed the progress made in implementing UNCCD strategic objectives, and Article 15.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as measures taken by member states to reduce the effects of droughts, dust and sand storms.

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Scientists: Melting Sea Ice in Antarctica Causes Ocean Storms

Scientists know the damaging consequences of the loss of Antarctic sea ice. Juan BARRETO / AFP
Scientists know the damaging consequences of the loss of Antarctic sea ice. Juan BARRETO / AFP
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Scientists: Melting Sea Ice in Antarctica Causes Ocean Storms

Scientists know the damaging consequences of the loss of Antarctic sea ice. Juan BARRETO / AFP
Scientists know the damaging consequences of the loss of Antarctic sea ice. Juan BARRETO / AFP

The record-breaking retreat of Antarctic sea ice in 2023 has led to more frequent storms over newly exposed parts of the Southern Ocean, according to a study published Wednesday.
Scientists know that the loss of Antarctic sea ice can diminish penguin numbers, cause ice shelves to melt in warmer waters, and impede the Southern Ocean from absorbing carbon dioxide, AFP reported.
But this new research, published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature, explores another consequence: increased heat loss from the ocean to the atmosphere, and an associated rise in storms.
Since 2016 there has been a large-scale reduction in Antarctic sea ice, but nothing like 2023 when a record amount failed to reform over the winter.
For this study, Simon Josey of the UK's National Oceanography Center and colleagues focused on three regions that experienced unusually high levels of sea-ice retreat that year.
Using satellite imagery, ocean and atmospheric data, and wind and temperature measurements, they found some newly ice-free areas experienced double the heat loss compared to a stabler period before 2015.
This was accompanied by "increases in atmospheric-storm frequency" over previously ice-covered regions, the authors found.
"In the sea-ice-decline regions, the June–July storm frequency has increased by up to 7days per month in 2023 relative to 1990–2015."
The loss of heat caused by reduced sea ice could have implications for how the ocean circulates and the wider climate system, the study added.
Oceans are a crucial climate regulator and carbon sink, storing more than 90 percent of the excess heat trapped near Earth's surface by greenhouse gas emissions.
In particular, sea-ice retreat could mean changes in how a deeper layer of cold, dense Antarctic bottom water absorbs and stores heat.
The authors said further in-depth analysis of possible climate impacts were needed, including if sea-ice retreat could have even further-reaching consequences.
"Repeated low ice-cover conditions in subsequent winters will strengthen these impacts and are also likely to lead to profound changes further afield, including the tropics and the Northern Hemisphere," it said.