Summary

The State Meteorological Agency of Spain (AEMET) organized the Training Workshop on Sand and Dust Storms in West Africa in La Laguna, Spain, on 21 May 2018 in collaboration with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), EUMETSAT and inDust (COST Action CA16202). The event was attended by 10 meteorologists from West African countries, plus two researchers from UAE and South Korea.

The objectives of the workshop were to:

• Enhance the understanding of the physical processes involved in the dust cycle and the impacts of airborne dust on air quality, health, aviation and diverse socio-economic sectors.

• Enhance the technical capacities of operational meteorologists from West Africa on the analysis and prediction of sand and dust storms, including the use of ground and satellite observations, as well as available dust predictions.

The event was presented by Mr. Bernard Edward Gomez, WMO representative for North, Central and West Africa, Ms. Carmen Rus, AEMET Director, and Mr. Antonio Conesa, AEMET officer in charge of the AFRIMET cooperation project.