Zoning of Dust-Affected Areas in Kermanshah Province

The crisis of climate change, and especially dust phenomenon, has become more apparent in the last decade as it now involves all aspects of the society, especially farmers and villagers. The growing number of natural disasters has sounded the alarm for the agricultural community in Kermanshah province. In this province, most people are working through agriculture and the slightest change in the climate can have an immediate impact on the agricultural sector, thus leading to bigger problems such as immigration, and the country's lack of independence in meeting food needs and resolving social, economic, cultural, or even political issues. Accordingly, dust management and planning for it can be effective when we identify and classify the areas affected by dust based on the intensity and concentration of fine dust particles.Dust phenomenon has imposed a lot of costs on the agricultural, economic, and health products of people living along the Zagros Mountain Range in recent years. Zoning of the affected areas can be a tool for planners to deal with priorities, determine an optimal land use, and provide warning systems and protection, etc. in arid and semi-arid regions, especially in the involved cities. Although the issue of dust is an almost uncontrollable phenomenon, it is at least possible to know the time table and circulatory patterns, based on which infiltration of particulate matters from the regions occurs. The related infrastructure is ready to deal with this phenomenon. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the areas that suffer from the most damage caused by fine dust and effectively contribute to the reduction of its destructive outcomes. 

In this research, quantitative, applied, and descriptive-analytical approaches were taken in terms of paradigm, objective, and data collection, respectively. To conduct this study, 14 synoptic, complementary synoptic, and meteorological stations working through the complete and longest statistical period were selected during a common statistical period of 16 years (2002-2018). At the meteorological stations, two-digit codes were utilized to report on the atmospheric phenomena like precipitation type, including precipitation with thunderstorms and snowstorms, as well as the amounts of dust or sand. These codes started from 00 and continued up to 99, each of which represented an atmospheric phenomenon. Code 06 was for dust phenomenon. The frequency of this code was different from those of the other codes when filtered in Excel software, after which its annual frequency reported in each of the selected stations during the 16-year statistical period was calculated by SPSS software. In the final stage, zoning patterns were formed and the information layers were analyzed in the ArcGIS software environment. 

Based on the annual frequency of airborne dust storms, dust pollution in the cities of Kermanshah province fell into 3 categories: very severe, severe, and moderate. The cities of Sarpol-e-zahab, Qasr-e-Shirin, Paveh, Gilan-e-gharb, and Thalas-e-Babajani fell in the category of very severe frequency; Kermanshah, Javanroud, Ravansar, Dalahou, and Islamabad cities had a severe frequency; and Sahneh, Kangavar, Songor, and Harsin cities were categorized as having a moderate frequency. There was almost a big difference between the first category and the second and third one in terms of frequency of dust days. The reason was that the first group of stations were located in the vicinity of Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan, and Kuwait, which were the sources of dust spread over the western regions of Kermanshah province. Also, the drought and lack of vegetation in these regions leading to the separation of soil particles were known as the aggravating factors contributing to the occurrence of more dust days in this group. However, the stations in the second and third districts had fewer dusty days due to being far from the mentioned dust centers. 

The agricultural sector is one of the most important economic sectors in all developing countries, which, in addition to creating jobs for people, is responsible for producing the food needed by the members of the society. Agricultural activities can lead to independence in other aspects. Apart from all the benefits of agricultural activities for a country, it is important to consider what happens if a factor has a negative impact on them. Unfortunately, we have witnessed dust occurrence in the country, especially in the western and southwestern regions in the last decade. The effects of dust on agriculture can be a threat to the health of producers and consumers, as well as the environment and natural resources. On the other hand, most people make a living from agriculture and animal husbandry in Iran, particularly in the study area. Therefore, long-term dust would destroy people’s productive resources in the study regions and thus reduce food production and independence. In this research, we sought to conduct zoning of the areas affected by dust phenomenon in Kermanshah Province. This way, we could identify areas undergoing the most damage from dust. Eradicating the causes and factors leading to severe damages triggered by dust phenomenon can be the basis for policy-makers and developers of appropriate programs to prevent natural and priority crises and deal with them in strategic decision-making and planning. The results revealed that the cities in the western and eastern regions of Kermanshah province had the highest and lowest frequencies of dust occurrence during the last 16 years, respectively.