Why did a synoptic storm cause a dramatic damage in a limited area of Mongolia?

Abstract

In recent years, dust storms increasingly have caused enormous damages in Mongolia. An example of such storm is the one caused a historic damage in eastern Mongolia on 26-27 May 2008. This storm motivated us to study the relationship between the weather conditions, socioeconomic backgrounds, and damages of the dust storm and to answer the question why the damages were localized. We conducted two kinds of regression analyses on the county basis related to the cause-and-effect relationship in the dust storm event. That is, the predicted variables are the effects (damages) of the dust storm, while the predictor variables are the meteorological (forcing) and the socioeconomic (backgrounds) conditions.

The multiple regression model, significant at 5% level, selected the wind speed, precipitation, previous year's livestock loss rate, and the ratio of herders to the rural population as the predictors for the livestock loss rate. As well as these four predictors, the tree regression analysis suggested the air temperature as an important predictor.