Weather, climate and the air we breathe
This publication was produced for World Meteorological Day 2009. It is intended as an introduction to the increasingly prominent relationship between our atmosphere, weather and climate.
It contains crosscutting research on sand and duststorms, which can affect weather, climate, respiratory health, disease outbreaks and, possibly, hurricane formation. It also addresses climate change issues and the related, possibly increased, desertification patterns worldwide, thus increasing the risks posed by sand and duststorms and by drought, which can lead to more fires and, in turn, more aerosols.