Michelle Dugan-Delgado suffers from asthma, which is why she always carries an inhaler and a face mask when she goes out - in case the wind picks up and a dust storm arises. "I know it's not safe for me to go outside. I have to protect myself somehow", the woman tells DW.
If dust gets into her lungs, it can trigger an asthma attack. Invisible bacteria, fungal spores and viruses carried by the dust can also cause life-threatening infections. "If I'm outside and a dust storm arises, there's a very high chance that I'll get infected, which means I'll end up in the hospital," explains Michelle Dugan-Delgado.
She knows the dangers well - she's been hospitalized many times. Asthma has already brought much suffering to her family: in 2009, her younger sister Marie died of an asthma attack at the age of 16.
Dugan-Delgado lives in the Coachella Valley, an agricultural hub in the far south of California, surrounded by desert. She believes the poor air quality in the area is the cause of her sister's illness.
Dusty air near the disappearing lake
Dust storms are common in the region, which is home to about 500,000 people. The main source of this dust is the huge lake, which is drying up. At about 888 square kilometers, the Salton is the largest lake in California. But it is quickly disappearing. When winds blow over the exposed lake bottom, they carry away the dried sediment, creating dangerous dust storms.
Children living near the lake have been found to have a much higher rate of asthma. A study of more than 700 elementary school-age children found that 24 percent of them had asthma. That's many times higher than the national average of about 7 percent for boys and 5.5 percent for girls. In addition, more than 70 percent of the children surveyed had allergies, which is three times the U.S. average.
“Most families I know have at least one child with a respiratory illness,” says Dugan-Delgado. Her 13-year-old daughter also has asthma, and her 11-year-old son suffers from allergies.
From heaven to ecological hell
The Salton Lake was formed in 1905 when the Colorado River burst a floodgate in an irrigation canal and flooded the area. Since then, the body of water has been fed by agricultural runoff and local rivers.
In the 1950s, the lake was a popular vacation spot, attracting tourists and celebrities to its modern resorts. But then the water levels began to fall, partly due to global warming and water diversion efforts. Over the past 30 years, the lake has shrunk by about 20 percent, or 70 square miles.
But the water basin contains more than just dust: Winds carry pesticides and other toxic chemicals from farms, which greatly worsen the air quality in the region.
Climate change caused by the continued burning of fossil fuels is leading to higher temperatures and prolonged drought, making desert regions around the world drier. This significantly hinders plant growth and strains water resources, climatologist Amato Evan told DW. "Over time, dust storms are definitely becoming more frequent."
Globally, at least a quarter of the dust in the air is due to human activities, including off-road driving, deforestation and unsustainable agricultural practices.
Drying lakes are also major producers of dust - from the Salton Sea in California to Lake Urmia in Iran. The shrinking Aral Sea, for example, has increased dust in Central Asia by seven percent in the past 30 years.
Economic and health damage
More than half of the world’s dust emissions come from the Sahara. If the wind is strong enough, this dust can rise up to eight kilometers into the sky and travel enormous distances—crossing the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas, or across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.
The World Meteorological Organization reports that sand and dust storms affect about 330 million people each year. They can engulf entire cities, ground planes, destroy crops, and cause deadly traffic accidents.
And let’s not forget the cost to people’s health. "That's the biggest adverse impact - when people breathe in this dust," says Amato Evan.
Particulate matter can penetrate deep into the lungs and cause serious respiratory and heart diseases. It is responsible for an estimated 721,000 deaths worldwide each year, with children, the elderly and people with lung problems most at risk.
A life full of dust
Dugan-Delgado says her lungs are still deteriorating. And the Salton is predicted to continue to shrink.
State and local officials have launched a series of projects as part of a plan to restore 30,000 acres of the lake’s dusty shoreline by 2028. Thousands of bales of hay have been spread along the shoreline to trap dust. Native plants have also been planted to stabilize the soil and water is being pumped to create artificial wetlands for wildlife.
Evan says planting plants could help. But such methods require a lot of investment, water, and time.
He and his team are currently developing an early warning system for approaching dust storms. "Just like you get a weather forecast, you should be able to get a dust forecast," the expert explains.
Dugan-Delgado says she would welcome the establishment of such a system. She would also like people to be better informed about the risks - so they can better protect themselves and their children. "And one death is one too many. We need to find a way to stop this."
Author: Natalie Muller