I grew up shooting and hunting with S&W revolvers in central Oklahoma. Not desert and no sandstorms, but plenty of fine airborne particulate. I never had an issue with dust, but unburned grains of 2400 would occasionally get stuck under the extractor star and things would get sluggish. A quick pass from a toothbrush or shirt-tail put it right every time. Occasionally the ejector rod would back out on a Model 29, but I never saw that on anything other than a 44. Smith 22's will get gummy if you shoot them much. How gummy varies with the kind of ammo you use. That was always more of a problem than dust.
Unfortunately, I've dropped revolvers over the years. I'm not sure how every one of them manages to land on the rear sight, but they do.
Okie John