Climatic Conditions and their Impact on the Geographical Distribution of Dust Storms in Karbala Governorate

Abstract

There is no doubt that the increase and recurrence of dust storms in Iraq, especially in the central and southern governorates, has great effects on the overall lives of its residents. This research came to analyze the phenomenon of dust storms climatically for the period from 1992 to 2022 AD in Karbala Governorate, which included (3) climatic stations for the mentioned period. The researcher used the SPSS program to process statistical data by using a simple and multiple correlation coefficient to clarify the direction and strength of the relationships between the phenomenon studied and the variables affecting that phenomenon. The research reached several results, perhaps the most important of which are:

There is a spatial variation in the total annual average of the number of days in which dust storms occur in Karbala Governorate, as the (Umm Gharaghar) station recorded the highest rate of recurrence of storms, reaching (5.2) / day, and the reason is attributed to the high temperature and low rainfall, in addition to the fact that it is located within the desert area, and lacks the presence of vegetation cover, and its light soil is subject to wind erosion, while the lowest rate of occurrence of the phenomenon was recorded within the areas that extend on both sides of the Euphrates River, at a rate of (3.1, 4.8) / day for each of the (Razzaza and Ain Tamr) stations, respectively, which confirms the existence of variation in climatic factors between parts of the study area.

The occurrence of the phenomenon varies seasonally, as spring, especially during the month of May, recorded the highest rate of dust storms in all parts of the study area. The reason is due to the high temperature and low air humidity, which leads to soil disintegration, making it more susceptible to wind erosion compared to winter, when dust storms occur less frequently, despite the study area being less exposed to low pressure systems. It was found that the highest rate of explanation for the statistical change of the variables according to their degree of influence on the studied phenomenon was for the variable (x9) for relative humidity at a rate of 82%, and the lowest rate was for the variable (x8) for the amount of clouds at a rate of 25%. The percentages of the remaining variables varied in their influence on the frequency of the phenomenon at the confidence level (94%), or at the significance level <0.05.