Assessment of Rural Vulnerability to Sand and Dust Storms in Iran

Abstract

Climate-related hazards such as sand and dust storms (SDS) have various impacts on human health, socio-economy, environment, and agroecosystems. Iran has been severely affected by domestic and external SDS during the last two decades. Considering the fragile economy of Iran’s rural areas and the strong dependence of livelihood on agroecosystems, SDS cause serious damage to human communities. Therefore, there is an urgent need to conduct a vulnerability assessment for developing SDS risk mitigation plans. In this study, various components of SDS vulnerability were formulated through a geographic information system (GIS)-based integrated assessment approach using composite indicators. By implementing a GIS multiple-criteria decision analysis (GIS-MCDA) model using socioeconomic and remote sensing data, a map of rural vulnerability to SDS was produced. Our results show that about 37% of Iran’s rural areas have experienced high and very high levels of vulnerability to SDS. Rural areas in the southeast and south of Iran, especially Sistan and Baluchestan and Hormozgan provinces are more vulnerable to SDS. The findings of this study provide a basis for developing SDS disaster risk-reduction plans and enabling the authorities to prioritize SDS mitigation policies at the provincial administrative scale in Iran.

Transition from Vulnerability to Resilience to Dust: A Mixed-Methods Research

“…This challenge is mainly due to increased drought and heat waves on a global scale (Rublee et al 2020). This phenomenon negatively impacts various components of Earth's ecological systems and processes (Darvishi Boloorani et al 2023;Aryal & Evans 2023). Dust is seen more frequently in dry areas and usually occurs when strong winds blow a large amount of sand and dry soil into the atmosphere (Di Biagio et al 2017).…”

“…Planners have used different approaches in the past decades to deal with these challenges. Darvishi Boloorani et al(2023) produced a map of the vulnerability of rural areas to sand and dust storms (SDS) through an integrated assessment approach based on geographic information system (GIS) and using socio-economic data and remote sensing. They found that about 37% of rural areas of Iran are highly vulnerable to SDS, including the rural areas of southeastern Iran (especially Sistan & Baluchestan and Hormozgan).…”

Modelling of Wildfire Susceptibility in Different Climate Zones in Montenegro Using GIS-MCDA

“…GIS and multicriteria decision analysis (GIS-MCDA) are integrated and are becoming an increasingly popular method for developing models in various application areas [17], such as: Environmental Planning and Management [18][19][20][21][22]; Natural Hazards, Vulnerabilities, and Risks Modeling [23][24][25]; Hydrology and Water Resources [26,27]; Agriculture and Forestry [28,29].…”