The sky changed from Dubai to distant areas like Syria to a terrifying orange color while dust and sand were flying in the air this month.

Sandstorms have caused the greatest amount of devastation to the health of Middle Eastern peoples and their economies, where according to the World Bank this phenomenon costs the region's economy 13 billion dollars annually.

Thousands of people in the Middle East flocked to hospitals unable to breathe properly, in Syria, medical units stocked oxygen tanks and companies and schools closed their doors in Baghdad while Tehran suspended flights and Kuwait stopped maritime traffic.

Sandstorms know no borders, threatening to cause chaos in a vital region for the global economy, with the possibility of affecting everything from the gas price at the pump in the United States to the customer's delivery date in Spain, for example, for a package from China.

A glimpse of the destructive power of sandstorms was seen in March 2021, when the Suez Canal was closed for six days by a ship that veered off course due to a sandstorm, leading to the halt of nearly 60 billion dollars in trade, as about 12% of global trade passes through this narrow passage.