Dust Rising

With their howling winds and thick yellow clouds, dust storms can be terrifying. Here in the U.S. we don’t hear that much about them. But in parts of the world that experience them frequently people dread their arrival. They can clog the air with so many particles that it becomes hard to see and even harder to breathe. People who are regularly exposed to airborne dust become more susceptible to respiratory diseases. But as the world becomes hotter, will dust storms become a more frequent threat in many more parts of the world? That’s the question that brings atmospheric scientist Amato Evan and his research team from UC San Diego out to this research station in the Southern California desert.

Our partners, The Climate Initiative and the National Science Teaching Association, have created outstanding resources to accompany each of our films. Click on the buttons below to access the lesson plan and community outreach guide for Dust Rising. The classroom-ready lesson plan developed by the National Science Teaching Association highlights the science and engineering practices scientists use to explain the phenomenon of climate change. The Climate Initiative’s community outreach guide offers talking points and prompts to help foster viewer conversations about the film.