simoom

A burning wind, laden with dust and sand, that sometimes blows in the eastern part of the Sahara, Palestine, Syria, Jordan, and also across the Arabian Peninsula. The inhabitants of those areas must protect themselves from it, since the air it carries can reach temperatures above 50°C, being extremely dry (relative humidity below 10%), so exposure to it can be fatal, causing asphyxiation and hyperthermia in animals and people. It reduces visibility to a few meters and blisters form on exposed areas of skin. It is more frequent in the summer months and usually generates an orange-colored cloud that moves across the desert at great speed, causing very violent and dangerous gusts at its leading edge. The Greek historian and geographer Herodotus (5th century BC) described it as the red wind. Its etymological origin lies in the Arabic word samûm, which in turn comes from samm, which we translate as "poisonous wind."