Monday, Jul 18, 2016

Abu Dhabi: The UAE will be able to better prepare itself for potential dust storms after Masdar Institute of Science and Technology announced the launch of its real-time dust storm forecasting system on Monday.

“This is a turning point in the region’s ability to properly manage the impacts of dust storms. With access to accurate forecast of dust events and sandstorms, people can better prepare for them,” said Dr Hosni Ghedira, director of the Research Centre for Renewable Energy Mapping and Assessment (ReCREMA) and Professor of Practice at Masdar Institute.

“This information will be extremely useful for the transportation sector, as it will help show motorists, pilots and air traffic controllers where the dust will be and for approximately how long,” Dr Ghedira added.

The forecasting system, much like the UAE Solar and Wind Atlases created by ReCREMA, will be able to provide real-time maps of the atmospheric dust and other pollutants across the UAE. This information will also be made available for the public to view online.

The technology was developed by using the advanced chemistry-transport model called CHIMERE over the Middle East to simulate dust concentrations across the region.

CHIMERE is an open source model for air quality forecasting and simulation that enables researchers to enter weather and land surface parameters to produce forecasts of atmospheric ozone, aerosols and other pollutants and run simulations for emission control scenarios.

By Sami Zaatari Staff Reporter

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