More dust storms may be contributing to dramatic rise in Valley fever in the Southwest
People living in the American Southwest have experienced a dramatic increase in windblown dust storms in the last two decades, likely driven by large-scale changes in sea surface temperature in the Pacific Ocean drying the region’s soil, according to new NOAA-led research.
![The number of dust storms like this one in Gilbert, Arizona, in July 2012 have more than doubled from the 1990s to the 2000s, according to new NOAA-led research. (Image credit: Joseph Plotz / NWS / NOAA) The number of dust storms like this one in Gilbert, Arizona, in July 2012 have more than doubled from the 1990s to the 2000s, according to new NOAA-led research.](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_width_1275/public/legacy/image/2019/Jun/PHOTO-%20dust%20storm%20in%20Gilbert%20-%20050917%20-%20JosephPlotz-NWS-NOAA%20-%204741x2261%20-landscape.jpg?itok=FP4C7IgM)
The number of dust storms like this one in Gilbert, Arizona, in July 2012 have more than doubled from the 1990s to the 2000s, according to new NOAA-led research. (Image credit: Joseph Plotz / NWS / NOAA)