ESA at COP 27: Desert Storms in the Arabian Peninsula

Dr. Fatin Samara presents at COP 27.

ESA Member Claire Williams sent the following update from the United Nations Conference of Parties (COP 27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt from her colleague, Dr. Fatin Samara.

Williams and Samara have proposed a climate x health framework for testing anthropogenic pollutant content in desert dust storms in the Arabian Peninsula. Most of these storms originate in Iraq’s Tigris-Eurphatis Basin which is now mostly dry.

Samara is an atmospheric scientist and a full professor at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the co-chair of the UAE Climate Ministry Research Group. She is a US citizen who did a post-doc at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and her doctoral work at the University at Buffalo. In 2023, the UAE will host COP28, where we will hear more from UAE Climate Ministry and Samara.

Samara presented some of her work at COP 27 during a panel sponsored by the UAE and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Williams is a research professor in residence in the Department of Environmental Science at American University.