Haboob or Sandstorm?

The last two or three days have been sandstorms by day, hot as hell at night. If one's lungs filter this stuff, how do you change the filter?













A P Photo of Baghdad

A haboob is a type of intense dust storm characteristic of very dry regions. They are most commonly observed in the Sahara desert and in the dry regions of the United States Southwest, such as Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Haboobs are associated with outflows from severe thunderstorms. Dust clouds associated with haboobs typically rise thousands of feet into the air and are capable of reducing visibility to zero. Eye and respiratory system protection are advisable for anyone who must be outside during a haboob - moving to a place of shelter is highly desirable during a strong event. Since haboobs involve both dust and thunderstorms, occasionally conditions result which cause them to merge. The resulting rain can have considerable quantities of dust within it. Severe cases have been called mud storms by observers.

A dust storm (or sandstorm in some contexts) is a meteorological phenomenon common on the Great Plains of North America, in Arabia, the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, the Taklamakan Desert of northwest China, the Sahara Desert of northern Africa, and other arid and semi-arid regions. Severe dust storms can reduce visibility to zero, making travel impossible, and can blow away valuable topsoil, while depositing soil in places where it may not be wanted. Drought and, of course, wind contribute to the emergence of dust storms, as do poor farming and grazing practices. The dust picked up in such a storm can be carried thousands of kilometers: Sahara dust storms influence plankton growth in the western Atlantic Ocean and, according to some scientists, are an important source of scarce minerals for the plants of the Amazon rainforest. Dust storms can often be observed from satellite photos.