Dust storms and air pollution: what you need to know to protect your lungs

What is the difference between PM10 and PM2.5?

When air quality bulletins refer to PM10 or PM2.5, the number is the diameter of the particle measured in micrometres (millionths of a metre). PM10 means particles 10 micrometres or smaller. This is the visible yellow-brown haze you see rolling in during a sandstorm, the grit that settles on every surface and coats the inside of your nostrils.

PM2.5 means particles 2.5 micrometres or smaller. These are invisible to the naked eye but far more dangerous. The nose hairs and the mucous lining of the upper airways that trap larger particles cannot stop them. They travel deep into the smallest air sacs of the lung, and from there the finest fractions can cross into the bloodstream and reach organs across the body.

During a major dust storm, PM10 is extremely high and obviously visible. But PM2.5 can also be elevated in ways that are not visible. On a day when the sky looks relatively clear, PM2.5 can still be high near industrial zones, busy roads and areas running many diesel generators. Visible clarity is not a reliable guide to air safety.

How does dust actually harm the body?

When you inhale fine particles, the immune system launches an inflammatory response in the lung lining. In a healthy person this is short-lived. In someone with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), it can trigger a severe attack with wheezing, chest tightness and acute breathlessness that needs prompt treatment.

A 2012 study published in The Science of the Total Environment tracked hospital admissions for asthma across Kuwait and found a clear rise in emergency asthma cases on days of dust storm activity and in the days immediately following. The effect was not small. This pattern is documented across the Gulf, the Tigris and Euphrates basin and Syria.

For the heart, the evidence is equally clear. Research from Mashhad, Iran published in Environmental Monitoring and Assessment in 2016 found a measurable link between PM2.5 levels and deaths from both cardiovascular and respiratory causes. PM2.5 promotes inflammation inside blood vessel walls and increases the tendency of the blood to clot, both of which raise the risk of heart attacks and strokes on high-pollution days.

Who is most at risk?

Children under five are disproportionately affected because their lungs are still developing and they breathe faster relative to body weight, so they inhale more particles per kilogram than adults do. Older adults are vulnerable because the filtering efficiency of the upper airways declines with age.

People with asthma already have narrowed and reactive airways, so any particulate trigger can escalate a controlled condition into an acute crisis. People with COPD face the same risk. Heart disease patients and those with congestive heart failure are at higher risk because PM2.5 adds direct cardiac stress on top of their existing burden.

Pregnant women are a third group worth attention. Some research suggests that sustained exposure to air pollution during pregnancy is linked to lower birth weight and preterm delivery. Outdoor workers in construction, farming and road repair face the heaviest daily exposure because they cannot simply go indoors when conditions worsen.

Which masks actually protect against dust?

The thin blue surgical mask was designed to protect a patient from a healthcare worker's breath, not to protect the wearer from airborne particulates. It does not seal against the face. During a dust storm, air carrying PM2.5 flows straight around the unsealed edges. It provides some benefit against very large particles but essentially no protection against the fine fraction that causes the most harm.

The masks that do protect are those rated to a filtration standard. In the European rating system, FFP2 filters at least 94 percent of fine particles, and FFP3 filters at least 99 percent. The North American equivalent is N95 (95 percent filtration) and N99. A 2018 study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health confirmed that properly fitted N95 respirators substantially reduce personal exposure to fine particles in dusty working environments.

Fit matters as much as filtration rating. The mask must seal against your face. Press the metal nose strip firmly to the bridge of your nose, then take a sharp breath in. If you feel air pulling in from the sides or top, it is not sealed. A mask that allows air bypass gives no useful protection regardless of its rating number.

How to protect yourself indoors during a storm

When a dust storm arrives, your best move is to get inside quickly and close up the building. Brick and concrete construction provides better isolation than timber or corrugated metal structures. Close windows and exterior doors immediately. Roll a damp towel along the base of exterior doors where gaps let air through. Even imperfect sealing keeps indoor particle concentrations well below outdoor levels.

If you have air conditioning, switch it to recirculation mode so it circulates indoor air rather than drawing in outdoor air. If you own an indoor air purifier fitted with a HEPA filter, this is exactly the situation it is designed for. HEPA filters capture more than 99.97 percent of particles 0.3 micrometres and larger, making them highly effective against PM2.5.

Avoid cooking over an open flame or burning anything indoors during the storm because indoor combustion adds smoke particulates to whatever is leaking in from outside. Make sure anyone in the household who uses a reliever inhaler for asthma knows where it is and has a full canister.

Urban air pollution: dust is not the only problem

Major sandstorms attract attention, but chronic urban air pollution is what affects health steadily across years. A 2025 study mapping air pollutant hotspots across Iraqi cities documented elevated levels of PM2.5, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide in urban centres, tied to vehicle emissions, fuel burning and waste incineration.

Areas with unreliable electricity supply depend heavily on diesel generators running in residential streets. Diesel combustion releases fine combustion particles directly into neighbourhoods at ground level. Uncontrolled open burning of waste is a further source of mixed toxic smoke that communities downwind cannot avoid.

For people with asthma or allergic airway disease in these environments, poor daily control is the norm rather than the exception. Tracking the Air Quality Index through an app such as IQAir or Windy gives you a daily picture of risk in your area and helps you choose when to avoid outdoor exercise or walking during peak traffic hours.

Individual actions have real limits but also real value in the absence of faster structural solutions. Trees and green planting around homes reduce local particle concentrations because leaves intercept and bind particles rather than leaving them airborne. Ventilating your home during calm late night hours when traffic volume is lowest refreshes indoor air without exposing the space to peak daytime pollution.

What to do immediately after a storm passes

When a dust storm becomes visibly less intense, the air is not yet clear. Large PM10 particles settle relatively quickly, but PM2.5 can remain suspended for hours to days if conditions are still. Wait until an air quality app shows the index returning to acceptable levels before opening windows or resuming outdoor activity.

Clean indoor surfaces with a damp cloth rather than dry dusting to avoid resuspending particles. If you were outdoors during the storm, change clothes and wash your hair before coming fully inside to avoid carrying particles through the living space.

If respiratory symptoms persist for more than two days after the storm, such as a persistent cough or unusual breathlessness on mild exertion, see a doctor. Most cases are minor airway inflammation that responds quickly to simple treatment, but leaving it untreated extends recovery.

When to see a doctor

Most people experience mild, temporary symptoms after dust exposure. Gritty eyes, sneezing, a scratchy throat and a short-lived cough typically clear within hours without any treatment. But certain situations need medical attention rather than waiting at home.

If you have asthma and you need your reliever inhaler more than twice in 20 minutes without sustained improvement, go to hospital. People with heart conditions who notice any change in their palpitations, or chest pressure during high-dust days, should contact their doctor even if symptoms feel mild.

In very young children and infants, watch carefully for a breathing rate that is faster than usual, visible effort in the chest or abdomen with every breath, or any bluish tinge to the lips or skin. Any of these signs in a young child during or after a dust event is an emergency and should prompt an immediate call for help.

People with allergic rhinitis or chronic sinusitis often experience prolonged nasal blockage after a heavy dust event as particles settle deep in the nasal passages. Rinsing the nose twice daily with sterile saline solution can noticeably shorten this phase by physically clearing trapped particles before they sustain further inflammation. This is a step that costs very little and requires no prescription.

Older adults with chronic conditions including diabetes, kidney disease or suppressed immunity are also a priority group during heavy dust seasons. Particle exposure dampens respiratory immune defences and raises the risk of secondary bacterial chest infection in the weeks following a severe storm. If you or an older relative develop a productive cough, fever or increasing breathlessness within a week of a major exposure, see a doctor promptly rather than waiting to see if it resolves on its own.

Sources

• Alahmad B, Li J, Achilleos S et al: Burden of fine air pollution on mortality in the desert climate of Kuwait, Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology, 2023
• Thalib L, Al-Taiar A: Dust storms and the risk of asthma admissions to hospitals in Kuwait, The Science of the total environment, 2012
• Kyung SY, Jeong SH: Particulate-Matter Related Respiratory Diseases, Tuberculosis and respiratory diseases, 2020
• Onojeghuo A, Rasul A, Onojeghuo A et al: Air pollution exposure and hotspots of CO, NO2, SO2, PM2.5, and aerosols in Iraq, Environmental monitoring and assessment, 2025
• Bonyadi Z, Ehrampoush MH, Ghaneian MT et al: Cardiovascular, respiratory, and total mortality attributed to PM2.5 in Mashhad, Iran, Environmental monitoring and assessment, 2016
• Adhikari A, Mitra A, Rashidi A et al: Field Evaluation of N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirators on Construction Jobsites for Protection against Airborne Ultrafine Particles, International journal of environmental research and public health, 2018
• World Health Organization: Ambient air quality guidelines, 2021