Dust Storms Surge in California as Farmers Fallow More Fields

A surge in dust storms across California’s Central Valley is linked to expanding tracts of fallowed farmland, as growers abandon irrigation to conserve water. In short: a new study found that 88% of California’s human-caused dust events stem from fallowed agricultural land, especially in the drought-prone Central Valley. Remote sensing data from 2008 to 2022 show a 36% per decade increase in airborne dust over the Central Valley, as more fields go unplanted to comply with water conservation mandates.