Numerical Simulation of Kermanshah Severe Dust Storm (Case Study: Dust Storm on November 26 - 28, 2018)

Iran's location in the drylands belt has increased the frequency of dust storms in western parts of Iran, particularly the city of Kermanshah and negative environmental impacts. Arid lands, as one of the main sources of suspended dust in the atmosphere, face problems such as sandstorms, high levels of dust particles and reduced visibility, which are major climate problems in the country, especially in the border provinces. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the performance of a numerical model between the meteorological-chemical atmosphere scale called WRF-Chem model in the simulation of the concentration of suspended particles in Kermanshah region. By comparing the spatial distribution and concentration of suspended particles, meteorological parameters simulated by the model, and the available observational values for PM10 particles in Kermanshah, the efficiency of the WRF-Chem model was evaluated. The results of the simulation of PM10 particles for the studied days showed that the central and western deserts of Iraq, Syrian desert, Kuwait and northern Saudi Arabia are the main source of dust storm. Due to the logical correlation between dust particle emissions and temperature and relative humidity parameters, accurate estimation of these parameters is very effective in PM10 particle simulation accuracy. Based on the analysis of the PM10 variables, temperature and relative humidity and the plotted graphs and their comparisons, a favorable agreement was achieved between the simulated and measured values for PM10, temperature and relative humidity.