UC Merced Study underlines the role that dust for health in the Central -Valley plays

Fresno County, California (FOX26) – Dust becomes more visible in our daily life.

A fresno allergy, asthma and sine specialist says he sees more patients who complain about dust.

Now a study by a UC Merced assistant professor shows.

Last November, an endless wave of dust rolled through central California.

The intensive dust tower called Haboob triggered a number of accidents on valley motorways.

Where does the dust come from?

A US assistant professor from Merced Environmental Sciences believes that a fell -like arable land in the center of Valley is responsible for a high degree of anthropogenic dust.

It is a big word that describes human activities that affect nature.

“After you have left this country for a few years, the harvests in these countries are dry out in which the country is exposed to. Now it facilitates strong winds to record these floor particles and then turn them into air dust particles,” says Asyemi Adebiyi, assistant to UC, assistant by Merced Environmental Sciences.

Adebiyi says that it has gotten worse in recent decades.

“As you know, we initially have a big problem with pollution, and adding dust doesn't really help,” says Adebiyi.

The Woolf Agriculture on the west side of the valley breeds a selection of nuts and row plants.

The latest goods are the agave system, which requires very little water.

Their farms cover 20,000 hectares, but reduced reduced surface water and new rules that limit the pumping of the groundwater, they have forced to cut back.

“At the moment we are falling around, and around 20 to 25 percent of our area area varies again from year to year,” says Stuart Woolf, a Westside breeder.

The Public Policy Institute of California estimates that the sustainable groundwater management law, which is intended to reduce the use of water from below, that farmers could force nationwide to idle up to a million in the country.

“If we have a real windy day, it can be dusty and many of these bright fields can take up more dust,” says Wolf.

In the UC Merced study, assistant professor Adebiyi would like to observe in failed fields.

“It is what we do about the country after we have taken it out of production. Can we plant some plants? Some things to make sure that the winding is not a problem,” says Adebiyi. We didn't speak to local farmers here. We think it's something that we definitely have to do to explain them. “

“It is not so easy to say that you only have a bunch of seeds out there and a cover harvested plants and everything will be fine. We will have other cracks associated with this and other costs,” says Woolf.

According to Woolf, a cover harvest can become a host for all types of insects that can penetrate neighboring fields. He adds that there are additional costs to plant and irrigate a cover with little value.

The UC Merced study also focused on what dust our health does.

Valley Fever extends over the list.

Dr. Praveen Buddiga, specialist for allergy, asthma and sinus, says he sees more patients affected by dust.

“Usually we think of asthma when we see chronic cough in the valley, but in this case we have an X -ray of the chest and it was very different. The X -ray of the breast was full of small foggy areas,” says Dr. Praveen Buddiga, Allergy, Asthma and Sinus specialist.

Dr. Buddiga believes that an increase in construction work around Fresno and Clovis is responsible for more Valley fever cases.

“When the dust comes out of the ground and around the ground, it also uprooted the mushroom coccidioidomycosis, which is responsible for Valley fever,” says Dr. Buddiga.

According to the Foreign Ministry of Public Health, California had the highest number of Valley fever cases in 2024. About 12,637, compared to 9210 in the previous year.

California health officers are currently not the alarm on dust concerns in the middle part of the state.

Professor Adebiyi led the study to raise awareness.

“This problem is that due to this problem we address in this article, we appear a lot more dust. This is an occasion to worry, even though it is not yet a big deal,” says Adebiyi.

If the problem is not addressed, Professor Adebiyi says that there is a random conditions from the 1930s.

Click here to read the UC Merced study on dust due to idle fields.