Dust storms concerning economic development of tourism in the Sistan region

Dust storms are natural hazards that impact environment, economy, society and tourism. The Sistan region of southeastern Iran is a hotspot of dust emission. After ۱۹۹۹ drought, the frequency and intensity of dust storms have been increased due to desiccation of Hamoun lakes and vegetation. Although the Sistan region has capacity to receive tourists, dusty condition may restrict economic development of tourism. To assess the restriction effect of dust storms on economic development of tourism, annual and monthly frequency of dust storms was studied over the period ۲۰۱۳-۲۰۲۰. Wind speed and visibility data were received from Zabol metrological station for the studied period. The results showed that the Sistan region has dusty condition throughout the year especially in summer and in June, July and August. Over the eleven studied period, Sistan experienced dust storms with high frequency in years of ۲۰۱۰, ۲۰۱۴ and ۲۰۱۸. In a dust storm event visibility decreases due to increasing the load of dust (increasing PM۱۰) in the air that results in decreasing air quality. Dusty condition along with strong winds restricts the economic development of tourism in the Sistan region.

Keywords:

Dust storms , restriction , tourism , Sistan region