Exploring the association between knee osteoarthritis outpatient visits and Asian dust storms: a time-series analysis.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most prevalent musculoskeletal diseases in Taiwan, posing a significant public health challenge. In recent years, outdoor air pollution has become an increasingly critical global health issue. Asian Dust Storms (ADS) are known to exacerbate various health conditions due to elevated levels of particulate matter and other pollutants. However, the relationship between ADS and knee OA remains insufficiently explored. This study investigates the association between ADS occurrences and knee OA outpatient visits from January 2006 to December 2012, aiming to understand the potential health impacts of dust storms on OA patients. Using data from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD), the Taiwan Environmental Protection Agency (TEPA), and the Taiwan Central Weather Bureau, we conducted a time-series analysis employing the autoregressive moving average with exogenous variables (ARMAX) model. This approach accounted for daily outpatient visits related to knee OA, ADS events, and various environmental and meteorological factors. The results revealed a significant increase in knee OA outpatient visits on days immediately following ADS events, with peaks observed one to two days after the event. This increase was most pronounced among females, individuals aged 61 and above, and residents in the western regions. The study demonstrates an association between ADS and increased knee OA outpatient visits, highlighting the need for public health strategies to mitigate the health impacts of dust storms.

Electric buses as an air pollution and meteorological observation network: Methodology and preliminary results.

Many local agencies in the United States and other countries are tasked to install air pollution monitoring systems of highly accurate sensors that have high acquisition, operating, and maintenance costs. The need for expanded coverage of air quality measurements across Salt Lake County (SLCO), Utah is being met by mounting air quality and temperature sensors on an expanding fleet of battery electric buses (BEBs). Monitoring air quality from a mobile sensor network provides real-time insights into air pollution patterns at high temporal and spatial resolution. Mobile measurements contribute to assessing residents' exposure to air pollution, facilitating the implementation of cost-effective public health policies and highlighting disparities. The Electric Bus Air Quality Observation Project was launched in SLCO during July 2021 and has collected millions of observations to date. A BEB traveling at typical traffic speeds (~10 m s-1) can provide multiple measurements along city block lengths of up to ~200 m. With careful analysis that factors in the time response of the differing sensors, variability from block-to-block may be attributed to fine-scale factors (e.g., pollution and heat sources, tree shading and urban vegetation, etc.). Preliminary findings showcase the value of increased coverage and resolution. During an extreme heat event in July 2023, both the morning and afternoon temperature readings showed differences of over 6.5 °C (12 °F), primarily as an east-west gradient with similar gradients in ozone. We conclude that temperature and pollutant concentration readings, at fine spatial and temporal resolutions, will facilitate future health studies and equitable policy and mitigation strategies. Our study demonstrates that our partnerships established with governmental, non-profit, and transit agencies facilitate the successful transfer of research and development to operational real-time mobile air quality monitoring.

Biomineralization for Reducing and Controlling Sand-Dust Storms.

The sand-dust weather and sand-dust storms have become a serious environmental disaster worldwide. It is an important challenge to develop technologies for desert sand solidification in order to prevent and control sand-dust weather. The biomineralization technology for solidifying desert sands has been a novel method for reinforced soils in recent years. The biomineralization solidification sand field tests are completed at the Wuma Highway solidification section in the Tengger Desert. The superiority of the biomineralization for solidifying sands is verified by measuring the water storage capacity of different reinforcement zones including bare sand zone, plant zone, biomineralization solidifying sand zone, and biomineralization combined plant solidifying sand zone. Simultaneously, the molecular dynamics calculation analysis is used to verify the role of biomineralization solidifying sands in preventing sand-dust storms. All results demonstrate that the biomineralization solidification sand method is effective for controlling and preventing sandstorm disasters.

Winter Dust Storms Impact the Physical and Biogeochemical Functioning of a Large High Arctic Lake.

We found that a winter of abnormally low snowfall and numerous dust storms from eolian processes acting on exposed landscapes (including a major 4-day dust storm while onsite in May 2014) caused a cascade of impacts on the physical, chemical, and ecological functioning of the largest lake by volume in the High Arctic (Lake Hazen; Nunavut, Canada). MODIS imagery revealed that dust deposited in snowpacks on the lake's ice acted as light-absorbing impurities (LAIs), reducing surface reflectance and increasing surface temperatures relative to normal snowpack years, causing early snowmelt and drainage of meltwaters into the lake. LAIs remaining on the ice surface melted into the ice, causing premature candling and one of the earliest ice-offs and longest ice-free seasons on record for Lake Hazen. Meltwater inputs from snowpacks resulted in dilution of dissolved, and increased concentration of particulate bound, chemical species in Lake Hazen's upper water column. Spring inputs of nutrients increased both heterotrophy and algal productivity under the surface ice following snowmelt, with a net consumption of dissolved oxygen. As climate change continues to alter High Arctic temperatures and precipitation patterns, we can expect further changes in dust storm frequency and severity with corresponding impacts for freshwater ecosystems.

Assessing the role of drought in dust storm formation in the Tigris and Euphrates basin.

Drought is a common meteorological phenomenon and one of the world's most costly natural hazards. A large part of the Tigris and Euphrates basin (TEB) is located in the arid and semi-arid regions of western Asia and suffers from drought. Drought has many destructive effects on the environment and human societies, among which the formation of dust storms, is a major global challenge. This study aims to figure out the role of different types of drought on dust storm formation in the TEB. Standardized precipitation index (SPI), Tasseled Cap greenness index, and surface water area changes based on time series of satellite remote sensing data were considered as proxies to investigate meteorological, agricultural, and hydrological droughts, respectively. Our results show that the continuation of the 5-month and 27-month meteorological droughts are followed by agricultural and hydrological droughts, respectively. In recent decades, the TEB has experienced two prominent drought periods in 2008-2012 and 2021-2022, resulting in a 214 % and 200 % increase in dust events, respectively, compared to the 23-year (2000-2022) average. Overall, 84 %, 10 %, and 6 % of the TEB dust events can be attributed to meteorological, agricultural, and hydrological droughts, respectively.

Impact of desert dust storms, PM10 levels and daily temperature on mortality and emergency department visits due to stroke.

Objective: It is known that the inhalation of air pollutants adversely affects human health. These air pollutants originated from natural sources such as desert storms or human activities including traffic, power generating, domestic heating, etc. This study aimed to investigate the impacts of desert dust storms, particulate matter ≤10 µm (PM10) and daily maximum temperature (MT) on mortality and emergency department (ED) visits due to stroke in the city of Gaziantep, Southeast Turkey. Method: The data on mortality and ED visits due to stroke were retrospectively recruited from January 1, 2009, to March 31, 2014, in Gaziantep City Centre. Results: PM10 levels did not affect ED visits or mortality due to stroke; however, MT increased both ED visits [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.002, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.001-1.003] and mortality (OR = 1.006, 95% CI = 0.997-1.014) due to stroke in women. The presence of desert storms increased ED visits due to stroke in the total population (OR = 1.219, 95% CI = 1.199-1.240), and all subgroups. It was observed that desert dust storms did not have an increasing effect on mortality. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that MT and desert dust storms can induce morbidity and mortality due to stroke.

Sources, Fate, and Detection of Dust-Associated Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS): A Review.

The occurrence of sand and dust storms (SDSs) is essential for the geochemical cycling of nutrients; however, it is considered a meteorological hazard common to arid regions because of the adverse impacts that SDSs brings with them. One common implication of SDSs is the transport and disposition of aerosols coated with anthropogenic contaminants. Studies have reported the presence of such contaminants in desert dust; however, similar findings related to ubiquitous emerging contaminants, such as per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), have been relatively scarce in the literature. This article reviews and identifies the potential sources of dust-associated PFAS that can accumulate and spread across SDS-prone regions. Furthermore, PFAS exposure routes and their toxicity through bioaccumulation in rodents and mammals are discussed. The major challenge when dealing with emerging contaminants is their quantification and analysis from different environmental media, and these PFAS include known and unknown precursors that need to be quantified. Consequently, a review of various analytical methods capable of detecting different PFAS compounds embedded in various matrices is provided. This review will provide researchers with valuable information relevant to the presence, toxicity, and quantification of dust-associated PFAS to develop appropriate mitigation measures.

Impact of sand and dust storms on tropospheric parameter estimation by GPS.

The transport of dust from the Middle East and African deserts affects European and Asian countries at certain times of the year, especially in spring. Turkey is one of these countries, and many dust storm events have occurred in the first half of 2022, which have affected especially the southeastern part of Anatolia. Apart from threatening human health, dust and sand particles, which are described as particulate matter, may possibly affect Global Positioning System (GPS) signals. The purpose of this research is to look into the effects of particulate matter less than 10 µm (PM10) on GPS-estimated precipitable water vapor (PWV). Hourly PM10 and PWV data between April 1, 2022, and June 10, 2022, were utilized. Four different extreme dust concentration events and a benchmark period were investigated separately. Hourly data results showed that correlation coefficients vary according to events, wind directions, and the distance between GPS stations and air quality monitoring stations. Also, other meteorological parameters that affect PWV, such as temperature, relative humidity, and pressure, were investigated and found to have no anomalies that could affect PWV. Hourly and daily correlation coefficients in the benchmark period were significantly lower compared to dusty days, which indicates that there is no real correlation between PM10 and PWV concentrations in clear air conditions. Only with the increase of PM10 to extreme levels does the relationship show itself. Therefore, this study suggests that for all GPS applications, such as positioning or PWV estimation, PM10 concentrations should be considered.

Early-life exposure to Saharan dust storms and adolescence functional disability: Evidence from Cameroon.

The direct link between early-life dust storm exposure and later-in-life outcomes is not fully understood. This study examines the association of functional disability in a large sample of adolescent Cameroonians (N = 112,855) with in-utero and early childhood exposure to Saharan dust storms. Adjusting all estimations for temperature, precipitation, time and location fixed-effects, and person and family sociodemographic characteristics, we documented adverse effects on functional disability in female adolescents due to exposure to dense dust storms during the third gestation trimester and the second postnatal trimester. We also found suggestive evidence that an effect exists for the first as well as the third through fifth postnatal trimesters. In the third trimester of gestation and the second postnatal trimester, exposure to an average length dust storm with PM10 levels beyond 190 µg/m3 increased the likelihood of disability among female adolescents by approximately 229 (95 % CI: 10-464) in 100,000. The size of the adverse effects for the other periods followed similar patterns. These results show the value of creating infrastructures to mitigate or adapt to the effects of dust storms. These endeavors should focus on communities and populations in and around the Sahara where international organizations can play a role. In addition, establishing health data infrastructures not only improves public health but also advances our understanding of the long-term effects of dust storms. This study demonstrates the importance of research on the long-term effects of early-life exposure to dust storms and the need for additional work on this topic.

Responses of schoolchildren with asthma to recommendations to reduce desert dust exposure: Results from the LIFE-MEDEA intervention project using wearable technology.

Current public health recommendations for desert dust storms (DDS) events focus on vulnerable population groups, such as children with asthma, and include advice to stay indoors and limit outdoor physical activity. To date, no scientific evidence exists on the efficacy of these recommendations in reducing DDS exposure. We aimed to objectively assess the behavioral responses of children with asthma to recommendations for reduction of DDS exposure. In two heavily affected by DDS Mediterranean regions (Cyprus & Crete, Greece), schoolchildren with asthma (6-11 years) were recruited from primary schools and were randomized to control (business as usual scenario) and intervention groups. All children were equipped with pedometer and GPS sensors embedded in smartwatches for objective real-time data collection from inside and outside their classroom and household settings. Interventions included the timely communication of personal DDS alerts accompanied by exposure reduction recommendations to both the parents and school-teachers of children in the intervention group. A mixed effect model was used to assess changes in daily levels of time spent, and steps performed outside classrooms and households, between non-DDS and DDS days across the study groups. The change in the time spent outside classrooms and homes, between non-DDS and DDS days, was 37.2 min (pvalue = 0.098) in the control group and -62.4 min (pvalue < 0.001) in the intervention group. The difference in the effects between the two groups was statistically significant (interaction pvalue < 0.001). The change in daily steps performed outside classrooms and homes, was -495.1 steps (pvalue = 0.350) in the control group and -1039.5 (pvalue = 0.003) in the intervention group (interaction pvalue = 0.575). The effects on both the time and steps performed outside were more profound during after-school hours. To summarize, among children with asthma, we demonstrated that timely personal DDS alerts and detailed recommendations lead to significant behavioral changes in contrast to the usual public health recommendations.

Mars' emitted energy and seasonal energy imbalance.

SignificanceThe radiant energy budget is a fundamental metric for planets. Based on the observations from multiple missions, we provide a global picture of Mars' emitted power. Furthermore, we estimate the radiant energy budget of Mars, which suggests that there are energy imbalances at the time scale of Mars' seasons. Such energy imbalances provide a new perspective to understanding the generating mechanism of dust storms. Mars' radiant energy budget is assumed to be balanced at all time scales in current models and theories, but our analyses show that the energy budget is not balanced, at least at the time scale of Mars' seasons. Therefore, current theories and models should be revisited with the newly revealed energy characteristics.

Impact of sand and dust storms on the atmospheric environment and its source in Tianjin-China.

Sand and dust storms (SDS) frequently hit northern China and adversely impact both environment and health. The carbonaceous components, inorganic elements, water-soluble ions, and meteorological parameters of several severe SDS episodes have been measured in a supersite in Tianjin, which is a big and representative city located in SDS transmission pathway in northern China. Six SDS episodes were identified in Spring, 2021. The maximum PM10 mass concentration was 2684 and 1664 µg/m3 in SDS1 and SDS3, respectively. North and northwest wind was dominant and significant differences were found in wind speed and RH between the SDS and non-SDS episodes. North dust from Inner Mongolia and Mongolia was determined by back trajectory analysis as the probable source region. The mass concentration of SO42-, NO3-, and NH4+ decreased in PM2.5. Increase of Na+ and K+ and low SO42-SDS/ SO42-non-SDS indicate dust source for short length SDS transmission in northern China. The ratio of elements could also be used to distinguish SDS and non-SDS episodes identify north and northwest source for the SDS episodes. Pb/Al, Zn/Al, and Si/Al could be regarded as indicators for SDS and non-SDS episodes, Ca/Al and Ca/Si can help to indicate SDS source direction. This study provides a variety of evidences for the dust source identification and reveals the characteristics of the most severe SDS episodes of the decade in Tianjin during Spring 2021.

Burden of dust storms on years of life lost in Seoul, South Korea: A distributed lag analysis.

Although dust storms have been associated with adverse health outcomes, studies on the burden of dust storms on deaths are limited. As global warming has induced significant climate changes in recent decades, which have accelerated desertification worldwide, it is necessary to evaluate the burden of dust storm-induced premature mortality using a critical measure of disease burden, such as the years of life lost (YLL). The YLL attributable to dust storms have not been examined to date. This study investigated the association between Asian dust storms (ADS) and the YLL in Seoul, South Korea, during 2002-2013. We conducted a time-series study using a generalized additive model assuming a Gaussian distribution and applied a distributed lag model with a maximum lag of 5 days to investigate the delayed and cumulative effects of ADS on the YLL. We also conducted stratified analyses using the cause of death (respiratory and cardiovascular diseases) and sociodemographic status (sex, age, education level, occupation, and marital status). During the study period, 108 ADS events occurred, and the average daily YLL was 1511 years due to non-accidental causes. The cumulative ADS exposure over the 6-day lag period was associated with a significant increase of 104.7 (95% CI, 31.0-178.5 years) and 34.4 years (4.0-64.7 years) in the YLL due to non-accidental causes and cardiovascular mortality, respectively. Sociodemographic analyses revealed associations between ADS exposure and the YLL in males, both <65 and ≥ 65 years old, those with middle-level education, and the unemployed, unmarried, and widowed (26.5-83.8 years). This study provides new evidence suggesting that exposure to dust storms significantly increases the YLL. Our findings suggest that dust storms are a critical environmental risk affecting premature mortality. These results could contribute to the establishment of public health policies aimed at managing dust storm exposure and reducing premature deaths.

No Consistent Link Between Dust Storms and Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis).

Dust storms, such as those associated with haboobs and strong regional winds, are frequently assumed to cause increases in cases of Valley fever (coccidioidomycosis). The disease is caused by inhaling arthroconidia of Coccidioides fungi that, after being disturbed from semi-desert subsoil, have become airborne. Fungal arthroconidia can be transported in low-wind conditions as well as in individual dust events, but there is no reliable evidence that all or most dust storms consistently lead to subsequent increases in coccidioidomycosis cases. Following a review of the relevant literature, this study examines the relationship between dust storms and coccidioidomycosis cases to determine if there is a consistent and general association between them. All recorded dust storms from 2006 to 2020 in and near the Phoenix area of Maricopa County, Arizona and the Bakersfield area of Kern County, California were used in a compositing analysis (superposed epoch analysis) of subsequent coccidioidomycosis cases in each area. Analyses of monthly and weekly disease case data showed no statistical differences in the patterns of coccidioidomycosis cases following dust storms versus non-dust storm conditions, for the entire data set as well as for seasonal subsets of the data. This study thoroughly analyzes post-dust storm coccidioidomycosis cases for a large set of dust storms, and it confirms and expands upon previous literature, including a recent study that measured airborne arthroconidia and found no consistent links connecting wind and dust conditions to increases in coccidioidomycosis.

Climate change and global issues in allergy and immunology.

The steady increase in global temperatures, resulting from the combustion of fossil fuels and the accumulation of greenhouse gases (GHGs), continues to destabilize all ecosystems worldwide. Although annual emissions must be halved by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050 to limit some of the most catastrophic impacts associated with a warming planet, the world's efforts to curb GHG emissions fall short of the commitments made in the 2015 Paris Agreement. To this effect, July 2021 was recently declared the hottest month ever recorded in 142 years. The ramifications of these changes for global temperatures are complex and further promote outdoor air pollution, pollen exposure, and extreme weather events. Besides worsening respiratory health, air pollution promotes atopy and susceptibility to infections. The effects of GHGs on pollen affect the frequency and severity of asthma and allergic rhinitis. Changes in temperature, air pollution, and extreme weather events exert adverse multisystemic health effects and disproportionally affect disadvantaged and vulnerable populations. This review article is an update for allergists and immunologists about the health impacts of climate change that are already evident in our daily practices. It is also a call to action and advocacy, including to integrate climate change-related mitigation, education, and adaptation measures to protect our patients and avert further injury to our planet.

The Response of Airborne Mycobiome to Dust Storms in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Airborne microbial communities directly impact the health of humans, animals, plants, and receiving ecosystems. While airborne bacterial and fungal communities have been studied by both cultivation-based methods and metabarcoding surveys targeting specific molecular markers, fewer studies have used shotgun metagenomics to study the airborne mycobiome. We analyzed the diversity and relative abundance of fungi in nine airborne metagenomes collected on clear days ("background") and during dust storms in the Eastern Mediterranean. The negative correlation between the relative abundance of fungal reads and the concentrations of atmospheric particulate matter having an aerodynamic diameter smaller than 10 µm (PM10) indicate that dust storms lower the proportion of fungi in the airborne microbiome, possibly due to the lower relative abundance of fungi in the dust storm source regions and/or more effective transport of bacteria by the dust. Airborne fungal community composition was altered by the dust storms, particularly those originated from Syria, which was enriched with xerophilic fungi. We reconstructed a high-quality fungal metagenome-assembled genome (MAG) from the order Cladosporiales, which include fungi known to adapt to environmental extremes commonly faced by airborne microbes. The negative correlation between the relative abundance of Cladosporiales MAG and PM10 concentrations indicate that its origin is dominated by local sources and likely includes the indoor environments found in the city.

A novel approach to the development of 1-hour threshold concentrations for exposure to particulate matter during episodic air pollution events.

Episodic air pollution events that occur because of wildfires, dust storms and industrial incidents can expose populations to particulate matter (PM) concentrations in the thousands of µg m-3. Such events have increased in frequency and duration over recent years, with this trend predicted to continue in the short to medium term because of climate warming. The human health cost of episodic PM events can be significant, and inflammatory responses are measurable even after only a few hours of exposure. Consequently, advice for the protection of public health should be available as quickly as possible, yet the shortest averaging period for which PM exposure guideline values (GVs) are available is 24-h. To address this problem, we have developed a novel approach, based on Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) statistical analysis, that derives 1-h threshold concentrations that have a probabilistic relationship with 24-h GVs. The ROC analysis was carried out on PM10 and PM2.5 monitoring data from across the US for the period 2014-2019. Validation of the model against US Air Quality Index (AQI) 24-h breakpoint concentrations for PM showed that the maximum-observed 1-h PM concentration in any rolling 24-h averaging period is an excellent predictor of exceedances of 24-h GVs.

A two-year assessment of particulate air pollution and sources in Kuwait.

BACKGROUND: Kuwait and the Gulf region have a desert, hyper-arid and hot climate that makes outdoor air sampling challenging. The region is also affected by intense dust storms. Monitoring challenges from the harsh climate have limited data needed to inform appropriate regulatory actions to address air pollution in the region. OBJECTIVES: To compare gravimetric measurements with existing networks that rely on beta-attenuation measurements in a desert climate; determine the annual levels of PM2.5 and PM10 over a two-year period in Kuwait; assess compliance with air quality standards; and identify and quantify PM2.5 sources. METHODS: We custom-designed particle samplers that can withstand large quantities of dust without their inlet becoming overloaded. The samplers were placed in two populated residential locations, one in Kuwait City and another near industrial and petrochemical facilities in Ali Sabah Al-Salem (ASAS) to collect PM2.5 and PM10 samples for mass and elemental analysis. We used positive matrix factorization to identify PM2.5 sources and apportion their contributions. RESULTS: We collected 2339 samples during the period October 2017 through October 2019. The beta-attenuation method in measuring PM2.5 consistently exceeded gravimetric measurements, especially during dust events. The annual levels for PM2.5 in Kuwait City and ASAS were 41.6 ± 29.0 and 47.5 ± 27.6 µg/m3, respectively. Annual PM2.5 levels in Kuwait were nearly four times higher than the U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standard. Regional pollution was a major contributor to PM2.5 levels in both locations accounting for 44% in Kuwait City and 46% in ASAS. Dust storms and re-suspended road dust were the second and third largest contributors to PM2.5, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The premise that frequent and extreme dust storms make air quality regulation futile is dubious. In this comprehensive particulate pollution analysis, we show that the sizeable regional anthropogenic particulate sources warrant national and regional mitigation strategies to ensure compliance with air quality standards.

Vulnerability mapping and risk analysis of sand and dust storms in Ahvaz, IRAN.

In this work, a sand and dust storm vulnerability mapping (SDS-VM) approach is developed to model the vulnerability of urban blocks to SDS using GIS spatial analysis and a range of geographical data. The SDS-VM was carried out in Ahvaz, IRAN, representing one of the most dust-polluted cities in West Asia. Here, vulnerability is defined as a function of three components: exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of the people in the city blocks to sand and dust storms. These components were formulated into measurable indicators (i.e. GIS layers) including: PM2.5, wind speed, distance from dust emission sources, demographic statistics (age, gender, family size, education level), number of building floors, building age, land surface temperature (LST), land use, percentage of literate population, distance from health services, distance from city facilities (city center, shopping centers), distance from infrastructure (public transportation, main roads and highways), distance from parks and green spaces, and green area per capita. The components and the indicators were weighted using analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Different levels of risks for the components and the indicators were defined using ordered weighted averaging (OWA). Urban SDS vulnerability maps at different risk levels were generated through spatial multi-criteria data analysis procedure. Vulnerability maps, with different risk levels, were validated against field-collected data of 781 patients hospitalized for dust-related diseases (i.e. respiratory, cardiovascular, and skin). Results showed that (i) SDS vulnerability map, obtained from the developed methodology, gives an overall accuracy of 79%; (ii); regions 1 and 5 of Ahvaz are recognized with the highest and lowest vulnerabilities to SDS, respectively; and (iii) ORness equal to 0 (very low risk) is the optimum SDS-VM risk level for decision-making to mitigate the harmful impacts of SDS in the deposition areas of Ahvaz city.

Assessment of airborne endotoxin in sandstorm dust and indoor environments using a novel passive sampling device in Al Zulfi city, Saudi Arabia - Establishing threshold exposure levels.

The impact of sandstorm dust events affects local air quality and public health. These issues are becoming of greater concern in Saudi Arabia. There is a significant lack of research on airborne endotoxin exposure and analysis in the Middle East countries and no coherent body of research exists focusing on sandstorm dust in worldwide. In this study, we used a novel design of an aluminum foil plate (AFP) electrostatic dust cloth (EDC) for the passive air sampling of sandstorm dust. A total of 38 sandstorm dust samples were collected during sandstorm episodes occurring between January and April 2020 in both indoor (7 days, n = 20) and outdoor environments (24 h, n = 18). After exposure, and following an extraction procedure, bacterial endotoxin levels were measured using the Limulus Amoebocyte Lysate (LAL) gel clot method. The study highlights that the airborne endotoxin level observed was between 10 and 200 EU/m2 in both indoor and outdoor environments, during a sandstorm event. Agricultural activities and farmhouses observed higher airborne endotoxin levels. In general, increased endotoxin levels were related to the severity of the sandstorms. Given that the observed values were high as per existing guidelines for respiratory health, we recommend the setting an occupational airborne exposure limit for bacterial endotoxin. This is the first report and further studies across various sandstorm-hit regions will need to be undertaken, together with various sampling methods, in order to assess for seasonal and geographic trends.