Major Dust Storm Leads to High Levels of Pollution in Israel

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A fierce dust storm recently came down over Israel and lasted for almost a full 24 hours. As a result, the pollution levels in Israel are now among the highest they’ve been in the past five years, according to information from Israel’s Environmental Protection Ministry.

When dust storms like this happen, there are tiny dust particles that can easily penetrate a person’s respiratory system, eventually causing irritation and inflammation within the lungs and blood vessels. For people who are elderly, pregnant, ill or infants, this can lead to some serious health complications. The Environmental Protection Ministry encourages these people to avoid any sort of outdoor physical activity as much as they can.

The air pollution levels were expected to drop within several days, as rain began to move into the region. The dust storm brought some significant winds into the region, with gusts hitting up to 60 to 100 kilometers per hour.

Dust storms are not unusual in the Middle East, and the pollution that they cause is usually a mixture of dust and sand that infects the air. Looking at photos of shutterstock_188444342cities in a dust storm, it almost looks like they are engulfed in tan-colored clouds. The winds in a dust storm also lead to lots of garbage, leaves, sticks and branches being blown around, which can (in more serious storms) lead to property damage.

Unfortunately, some of the poorest residents of Israel have no protection from these elements, especially many of the nation’s children, who are left unsheltered during these storms and risk breathing the contaminated air and causing damage to their respiratory systems.

One of the elements of Curt Landry Ministries’ work in Israel is the establishment of safe houses across the country, which give children protection from violence, abuse and from terrible storms like these. Your generous donations allow us to continue running these safe houses to keep children safe every single day.

For more information about how you can contribute to a Curt Landry Ministries safe house, contact us today.