World Meteorological Organization

- SDS-WAS was established in 2007 in response to the intention of 40 WMO member countries to improve capabilities for more reliable sand and dust storm forecasts. Research forecasting products from atmospheric dust models may substantially contribute to risk reduction in many areas of societal benefit. It will rely on real-time delivery of products.

- More than 15 organizations currently provide daily dust forecasts in different geographic regions. The SDS-WAS integrates research and user communities (e.g. medical, aeronautical, agricultural users). SDS-WAS is established as a federation of partners organized around regional nodes. At the moment two nodes are established: the Northern Africa-Middle East-Europe Node (hosted by Spain) and the Asian Node (hosted by China). The SDS-WAS mission is to achieve comprehensive, coordinated and sustained observations and modeling capabilities of sand and dust storms in order to improve the monitoring of sand and dust storms to increase the understanding of the dust processes and to enhance dust prediction capabilities.

- Video - SDS problem and SDS-WAS (Protecting People from Sand and Dust Storms)
 

2019
 

• The Sand and Dust Storms (SDS) Science Project Technical Scoping Meeting of several UN Agencies
  (WMO Secretariat, Geneva, Switzerland, 15-16 April 2019)
  Agenda

   

  Central Asian DUst Conference (CADUC)
  (Dushanbe, Republic of Tajikistan, 8-12 April)

• Side event on SDS-WAS, organized by AEMET, during the 17th session of the WMO Regional Association I (RAI-17)
  (Cairo, Egypt, 21-23 February)

Training School on dust products
(Aveiro, Portugal, 4-6 February)

• The Sand and Dust Storms (SDS) Technical Guide UN multi-Agency joint training by UNCCD, UN Environment and WMO (as a part of the UNCCD Conference of the Parties (COP13))
  (Georgetown, Guyana, 25-26 January)

2018

• SDS- WAS News in 2018
  
   

  Special Issue "Studying the Effects of Dust on Weather, Climate, and Air Pollution"

• Trial dissemination of numerical dust forecasts through EUMETCast

• 6th SDS-WAS Asian Node RSG Meeting and International Dust Workshop
  (Tsukuba, Japan, 19-21 November)
  Information Note
  Agenda Workshop
  Agenda RSG
  
   
• "International Training Workshop on Sand and Dust Storms" and "West Asia Cooperation Meeting on Sand and Dust Storms"
  (Istanbul, Turkey, 12-15 November)

• SAMLAC Aerosol Training School as part of the Caribbean Aerosol-Health Network, and the Pan-American SDS-WAS Regional Steering Group meeting
  (Puerto Rico, 11-17 November)

• SDS Technical Guide Write-shop and Technical Experts Workshop on a Global SDS Source Base Map
  (Geneva, WMO Secretariat, 1-4 October)
  Concept Note

• InDUST COST Action: video
• SDS-WAS project SDS Early Warning System for Burkina Faso

Publications

• https://sds-was.aemet.es/events/training-workshop-on-sand-and-dust-storms-in-the-arab-region 

• https://twitter.com/Dust_Barcelona/status/951455833484877825

• Sand and Dust Storms: Impact Mitigation

• NA-ME-E Node SDS-WAS report: Airborne Dust: from R&D to Operational Forecast

• Global Assessment of Sand and Dust Storms UNEP-WMO-UNCCD Joint Report:The “Global Assessment of Sand and Dust Storms”, jointly written by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The report, with foreword by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, has been included in the documentation of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly

• Technical Report on Asian Regional Centre
• Technical Report on Asian Regional Centre - Annex
• Regional Center for Northern Africa, Middle East and Europe of the WMO Sand and Dust Storm Warning Advisory and Assessment System - Activity Report 2010-2012
  Enric Terradellas (AEMET), José M. Baldasano (BSC-CNS) and Emilio Cuevas (AEMET)