Climatology of dust storm frequency and its association with temperature and precipitation patterns over Pakistan

Diversified topography and uneven distribution of both temperature and precipitation contribute to formation of suitable synoptic conditions for incidents of dust storm (DS). This study presents time series plots of the parameters and spatial distribution of climatological means of seasonal and annual DS frequency (number of DS days) over Pakistan and its association with that of temperature and precipitation for the period 1986–2015. Monthly observational data of DS frequency recorded at 25 synoptic stations in the study area and gridded data of both temperature and precipitation gathered from Climatic Research Unit (CRU) for the period 1986–2015 are analyzed. It is found that DS frequency is the highest in pre-monsoon. Both the highest mean seasonal temperature and lowest mean seasonal precipitation in this season are one possible reason for it. It is also noticed that the number of stations which show positive correlation of DS frequency with temperature and negative correlation with precipitation is always considerably greater than the number of remaining stations in almost every season and annually. Moreover, based on results on correlations and trends of the three parameters, out of 25 stations, 12, 6, 2, and 10 are identified that would face increase in DS frequency in near future in pre-monsoon, monsoon, winter, and on annual timescale, respectively.