China's Dust Storms Affecting Canadians' Respiratory Health - CANOE

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TORONTO (CP) - "A growing number of sandstorms as far away as China that researchers blame on climate change are contributing to an increase in health problems for Canadians, such as coughing, fevers and sore eyes, a new international report warns.

The study, co-authored by a Hamilton researcher and to be released Thursday, says global warming and population growth are drying out parts of the planet. It ranks desertification - the transformation of fertile land into a desert, often by human activity or climate change - as one of Earth's chief environmental challenges for the future.

Remnants of swirling dust storms arising out of the Gobi Desert between northern China and southern Mongolia are crossing the Pacific Ocean and reducing air quality over North America, the report says.

"These have been documented as increasing in frequency and increasing in intensity," said Dr. Zafar Adeel, assistant director of a international water research facility funded by the United Nations and hosted at McMaster University in Hamilton."

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http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2005/06/16/1090498-cp.html