The image has been around for a while. It was taken on June 1, 2017 in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital. Then, seven years ago, the city was preparing to receive a sand and dust storm. Beyond their spectacular nature, and although they do not usually cause serious or catastrophic damage, these phenomena have a great impact on the daily lives of people, especially those located in the surroundings of large deserts. The environment, health, agricultural production and, consequently, the livelihoods of millions of people are affected by these storms. While working on improving early warning systems that make it possible to predict its arrival with greater precision, in its profusion we must highlight the role of man: climate change, unsustainable land management and the abusive use of water. favor the appearance of these storms, which are much more frequent today than in the past.
Photograph: Abdullah Uluyurt/Getty
