The theoretical prediction of propagation in precipitation conditions has received much attention in the literature, but in some parts of the world sand and dust storms occur more frequently. In the paper, we attempt to place bounds on the likely effects of sand and dust storms, particularly attenuation and depolarisation in the 3–37 GHz frequency range covering most of the existing and planned operational radio and satellite links. We show that attenuation and crosspolarisation effects are quite small in modest dry sand and dust storms with visibilities around 100 m for linear polarisation up to 37 GHz. However, significant attenuation and crosspolarisation can result in humid areas for circular polarisation and for bad storms with visibilities around 20 m and less.