Dust can have a huge impact on local air quality, food security, energy supply and public health, yet little is known about how global climate change is affecting levels of the stuff.

Previous research found that dust levels are currently decreasing across India, particularly in northern India, the Persian Gulf Coast and much of the Middle East, but the reason has remained unclear.

Scientists at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) are working to understand how global climate change is impacting dust levels in the region.

The decline can be attributed to the Arctic warming much faster than the rest of the planet, a phenomenon known as Arctic amplification, experts say.

The decrease in dust can be attributed to the Arctic warming much faster than the rest of the planet, a phenomenon known as Arctic amplification.

Local land management, rapid urbanization and industrialization certainly contribute to dust levels West and South Asia but the novel insight from our study is the increasingly dominant influence of circulation change on the broader global climate context, said Michael B. McElroy, the Gilbert Butler Professor of Environmental Studies at SEAS.

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