Dust Storm in Lebanon

In Arabic, haboob means "violent wind". In 2015, the seven countries of Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Cyprus and Israel got the unfortunate event of undergoing a severe dust storm, also referred to as "haboob". Unfortunately, the dust storm left 12 dead and "...with its reduced visibility, sent thousands of people to hospitals with breathing problems..." (Paragraph 3). Although dust storms are common in the middle east, and are more common during it's hot seasons (June-September) the particular event that occurred in September of 2015 was unpredicted. As per meteorologist Ken Waters, "Haboobs are most common in hot and dry conditions, which have been prevalent across much of the Middle East this summer. The two ingredients needed are an availability of dust or sand particles at the surface and enough sustained wind to get those particles moving..." (Paragraph 5). "Scientists aren’t sure what the minimum wind speed is for a dust storm to form, but small, localized storms have been observed with speeds as low as 20 miles (32 kilometers) per hour. Larger ones, like the one that has pummelled Damascus and Beirut this week, need higher speeds to travel long distances..." (Paragraph 6).

Moisture is a primary cause for this natural event to take place in such dry climate. "Moisture tends to weigh dirt down and keep it in place, so more dust storms tend to occur during droughts. Human activity that disturbs the soil, such as construction or fallowing farm fields, can also expose dirt that can contribute to storms" (Paragraph 7).

There has been a "severe increase of sand and dust storms in the middle East in the past 15 years" as per BBC News, as well as an increase in the intensity of them.
If continued, dust and sand storms could cause the "disappearance of marshes and drying up of lakes" as what has been occurring in Iraq and Iran in 2016. A couple of years earlier in 2013, a similar event occurred in the previous regions with winds of 60mph with less severe turnouts than those experienced recently.

The image above used to be the Aral Sea in Kazahstan but due to high winds, much of it has dried out.

"Disruptions to transportation and potentially dangerous air quality are typically the two biggest impacts of the storms..." (Paragraph 4) and as mentioned previously, so is the impact that humans have upon the land, which causes the dirt to be exposed. Hopefully, with measures taken within humanity, less land can be used and the impact of dust storms can be minimized to a lower extent. With small measures, humans can lower the impact but not completely prevent it.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/150908-middle-east-dust-storm-haboob-weather/
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36553594
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34185291