The annual Dust Bulletin compiled by the World Meteorological Organization showed how many sand and dust storms the planet experienced in 2025 and their danger to air quality, health and the environment. Daniel Tong, associate professor of atmospheric science at George Mason University, developed a wind-blown dust emission model used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to forecast dust storms across North America and globally. Over the past 30 years, there has been a significant increase in the occurrence of severe dust storms in the Southwest but California, Illinois, Kansas and Oklahoma also make the top 10 list. "A dust storm is like a soup. "You might think the big dust storms are more worrisome but the smaller dust storm can be equally worrisome because they come out of nowhere as a surprise," Tong emphasized.