Is Australias Dust Storm Linked To Climate Change?
Date: 24-Sep-09 Country: AUSTRALIA Author: Michael Perry A dust storm swept across eastern Australia and blanketed Sydney on Wednesday, disrupting transport, placing health authorities on alert for widespread respiratory illness and stripping thousands of tonnes of topsoil off Australia’s main farmlands. Following are answers to questions about the storm. WHAT CAUSED THE DUST STORM? During winter in Australia low pressure storms are generated in the Indian and Southern Oceans, whipping up huge seas and creating severe cold fronts which sweep across southern and eastern Australia. A severe thunderstorm with 100 km per hour (60 miles per hour) plus winds formed in South Australia state on Monday and began whipping up dust from drought-hit outback lands. As vegetation gets dried off the topsoil is loosened, and it easily blows away. As the dust storm traveled into the eastern seaboard state of New South Wales, one of the worst hit by drought, it grew in size and by Wednesday morning was a
