RIYADH — The Executive Director of the Sand and Dust Storm Warning Regional Center, Jamaan Saad Al-Qahtani, stated that Saudi Arabia has recently experienced a noticeable decrease in dust storms. This decline is due to the country's efforts to address environmental issues through the Kingdom's Vision 2030 programs, which aim to reduce dust and sand storms and mitigate their impacts for a sustainable future. The center is actively working to collaborate with regional countries to mitigate the effects of dust storms. These statements were made during a virtual seminar held by the center on the International Day of Combating Sand and Dust Storms on Thursday. Local and foreign officials, scientists, and experts participated in the seminar to discuss the latest scientific research and proposed solutions to combat dust storms and mitigate their impacts. Al-Qahtani explained that Saudi Arabia has made significant efforts in this area, which included the launch of the Middle East Green Initiative to support the Saudi Green Initiative by planting 50 billion trees. The country has also established regional centers focused on warning against dust storms, climate change, and cloud seeding as part of the Middle East Green Initiative. Additionally, Saudi Arabia continues to invest in research and technology to better understand sand storms, develop solutions to mitigate their impact and cooperate with regional and international partners to combat sand and dust storms. He noted that dust storms present a significant challenge to the Gulf region and the world as a whole, impacting public health, agriculture, transportation, and energy. Efforts and effective strategies are necessary to combat them and mitigate their impacts. During the seminar, participants discussed efforts and programs related to combating dust and sand storms in the Gulf region, along with the activities aimed at raising public awareness of the importance of combating these storms and highlighting their negative impacts on health and economic sectors. The seminar highlighted Saudi Arabia's efforts in confronting dust and sand storms, such as the Saudi Green Initiative's role in planting 10 billion trees across the Kingdom and the impact of natural reserves in preventing overgrazing and deforestation. The spread of vegetation has been further supported by successive rainy seasons. Scientists from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Turkey, and Iran participated in the seminar, along with officials and experts from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
