Dust is a common weather phenomenon in the Arabian Gulf, which has severely affected economy and health. Sand and dust storms (SDS) trajectories in the Arabian Gulf were temporally and spatially monitored from March 2000 to March 2017. Eight major SDS trajectories were detected from satellite images. The dust storms trajectories were categorized according to shape and size into three main types with 12 subtypes in the region. The annual transported dust amount into the Arabian Gulf was estimated by 89.1 million metric tons, which is about 10,330 metric tons per cubic kilometer of water volume. In comparison to other seas and oceans, the amount of dust deposited into the Arabian Gulf water body volume is the highest. Dust deposited in the coastal regions within the Arabian Gulf are originated from Mesopotamian Flood Plain (MFP), Ahwaz (HZ), Ahwar (HR) and Baluchistan Desert (BSH) and characterized by physical parameters and composition. Such physical characterization of the trajectories of SDS, and of the properties of particles transported in the Arabian Gulf can be helpful to assess and mitigate the environmental impact of future similar events.

This study deals with the vegetation change in Kuwait from 1974 compared to recent vegetation map and their capabilities on trapping mobile sand, dust and carbon dioxides (Co₂). The average cost of one cubic meter removal of encroached sand around infrastructures in Kuwait is 1.32 USD. The capability of trapping sand is much higher for Haloxylon sp. than Stipagrostis sp. by 100%. The areas that were covered by Haloxylon in 1974 lose recently 4385 km² for the benefits of Stipagrostis causing the formation of a new mobile sand corridor. The total estimated annual cost for the vegetation change is 35,429,379 USD obtained from the costs of sand encroachment, CO₂ consumption loss and solar energy efficiency loss. Rehabilitation for areas that were occupied with large size canopy vegetation will surely cause a decrease in the aeolian activities and air temperature, lower the albedo and increase the precipitation and solar energy production.

Using 30 years of satellite observations, two sand and dust storms (SDS) source locations (hotspots) were detected on the southern side of the Mesopotamian Flood Plain. Around 40 million people in the region are affected by the two hotspots, including populations in Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, and Emirates. Both hotspots encompass roughly 8212 km² and contribute 11% to 85% in 2005 and 2021, respectively, of the total SDS in the region. Dust physical (particle surface area and size percentages) and chemical (mineralogy, major and trace elements, and radionuclides) properties show close similarities between source and downwind samples during SDS originated solely from the two hotspots. Deposited dust size particles show a finning trend towards the north in the Middle East compared to the south. A comprehensive assessment of the chemical and physical properties of soil and dust samples was conducted as an essential step in developing and implementing a mitigation plan in order to establish a success story in reducing SDS, improving air quality, and benefiting the gulf countries and neighboring regions.

Astragalus spinous is a native perennial shrubs from Leguminosae family that widely distributed in severely degraded lands at northern Kuwait. A restoration program was applied via levelling and refilling the quarries and rehabilitation of the natural vegetation and wildlife to their original outward appearance before degradation. The existence of Astragalus shrubs indicated that soil after depth 40 cm was very hard and compacted. Therefore, A. spinosus is considered as one of the efficient native plants in the rehabilitation process for highly degraded lands affected by soil compaction and sealing. The A. spinosus formed a maximum volume of nabkha deposits up to 1.12 m³ which makes it one of the effective plants in controlling mobile sand and dust. Every single plant has the capability to save the Kuwait economy by USD 3.6 via trapping mobile sand and saving the infrastructures from sand encroachment as a major challenge.

Dust storms in Kuwait’s deserts are greatly exacerbated by drought and land degradation. Due to its limited endowment of arable land and water resources, Kuwait confronts numerous hurdles in its effort to promote agriculture sustainably. These factors make it crucial to use soil and water resources sustainably. One approach to implementing water conservation and improving soil health is the development of sand and water harvesting techniques that enable the production of drought-resistant plants. These methods were experimented on a playa that had been degraded (2500 m²). Soil samples were taken from the control and restoration sites before and after treatments to evaluate the effects of the techniques such as mulching and micro-catchment. Over the mulched palm leaves, a new layer of soil emerged after a year with an average thickness of 26 cm; after five years, it had increased to 40 cm. When a drought-resistant plant Lycium shawii was first planted, the seedlings were between 30 and 40 cm long with 2-3 branches. One year later, they grew to be 100 cm long with 8 branches, and after five years, they had grown to be 200 cm.