THE United Nations general assembly has declared that 2025 to 2034 will be the world body’s Decade on Combating Sand and Dust Storms.

Such storms are increasing in number and size, threatening health and economies from central Africa to northern China.

Ugandan UN ambassador Godfrey Kwoba, who introduced the resolution on behalf of the Group of 77, comprising 134 developing countries and China, told the 193-member assembly on Wednesday that the initiative aims to “halt and mitigate the negative effects of sand and dust storms” through “international and regional co-operation.”

In a 2022 report, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification said that sand and dust storms have “increased dramatically in frequency in recent years.”

It warned that storms can exacerbate respiratory illnesses, kill crops and livestock and increase desertification, though documentation of their impact is limited.

Two trillion tons of sand and dust enter the atmosphere every year, largely in dry lands and subhumid regions with little vegetation, the convention estimated.

It said that the majority of emissions result from natural conditions, but that droughts and climate change exacerbate the phenomenon.

The report estimated that “at least 25 per cent of global dust emissions originate from human activities” such as unsustainable land management and water use.