IN PICTURES: 'Exceptional' Sahara dust cloud hits Europe
An "exceptional" dust cloud from the Sahara is choking parts of Europe, the continent's climate monitor said on Monday, causing poor air quality and coating windows and cars in grime.
Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service said the latest plume, the third of its kind in recent weeks, was bringing hazy conditions to southern Europe and would sweep northward as far as Scandinavia.
Good morning world ๐
Sahara dust over Munich
Have a nice week everyone ๐ค๐๐๐ pic.twitter.com/E7JuvMJDQq
โ chrid ๎จ ๐บ๐ฆ๐ (@c_muc) April 8, 2024
Mark Parrington, senior scientist at Copernicus, said the latest event was related to a weather pattern that has brought warmer weather to parts of Europe in recent days.
"While it is not unusual for Saharan dust plumes to reach Europe, there has been an increase in the intensity and frequency of such episodes in recent years, which could be potentially attributed to changes in atmospheric circulation patterns," he said.
This latest episode has caused air quality to deteriorate in several countries, Copernicus said.
This Sahara dust is annoying ๐ซ pic.twitter.com/TuIAhjQtE6
โ ๐ ๐๐๐๐พ ๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ฝ๐พ๐๐๐๐๐ผ๐๐พ๐ (@Antje19777) April 8, 2024
The European Union's safe threshold for concentrations of PM10 -- coarser particles like sand and dust that that can irritate the nose and throat -- has already been exceeded in some locations.
A picture taken on April 8, 2024 shows a rapeseed field under thick sand dust blown in from the Sahara, giving the sky a yellowish appearance near Daillens, western Switzerland. - An "exceptional" dust cloud from the Sahara is choking parts of Europe, the continent's climate monitor said, causing poor air quality and coating windows and cars in grime. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
The worst affected was the Iberian Peninsula in Spain but lesser air pollution spikes were also recorded in parts of Switzerland, France and Germany.
Ton's of Sahara dust over the Alps. pic.twitter.com/fEsgd5QiGn
โ antoine (@Chaos_Wanderer) April 8, 2024
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Local authorities in southeastern and southern France announced that the air pollution threshold was breached on Saturday.
France: Sahara Dust this morning visible at the Pic du Midi at a height of 2877ย meters. pic.twitter.com/GQ0ZLADM0L
โ sch. (@sunnnnnnnnnnnny) April 7, 2024
They advised residents to avoid intense physical activity, particularly those with heart or respiratory problems.
The dust outbreak was expected to reach Sweden, Finland and northwest Russia before ending on Tuesday with a shift in weather patterns, Copernicus said.
The Sahara emits between 60 and 200 million tonnes of fine dust every year, which can travel thousands of kilometres (miles), carried by winds and certain meteorological conditions.
The sky looks like that everyday here in Germany.
This shit gotta stop!
Haven't seen a normal blue sky in months.
They call it #Saharadust here in Germany now.
Even when the wind blows from west or north ๐ค pic.twitter.com/TmHlMi9cKZ
โ Walter Andy Wand ๐=๐ฅถ! ๐คฌ๐คฎ๐คข (@toffewee74) April 7, 2024
The Spanish Canary Islands off the coast of northwest Africa saw just 12 days within a 90-day period from December to February where skies were free of Saharan dust, the local weather agency Aemet had reported.
Sand and Dust from The Sahara Desert in Africa ๐ท The Spanish weather phenomonon is called "Calima". Which just translates to Dust.
It is getting really thick today ๐ pic.twitter.com/Hnpflylan6
โ Robert Delgado-Pรฉrez ๐ฐโ๏ธ๐๐ฉธ๐ก๏ธ๐คบ (@IBMLinux) April 8, 2024
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Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service said the latest plume, the third of its kind in recent weeks, was bringing hazy conditions to southern Europe and would sweep northward as far as Scandinavia.
Good morning world ๐
โ chrid ๎จ ๐บ๐ฆ๐ (@c_muc) April 8, 2024
Sahara dust over Munich
Have a nice week everyone ๐ค๐๐๐ pic.twitter.com/E7JuvMJDQq
Mark Parrington, senior scientist at Copernicus, said the latest event was related to a weather pattern that has brought warmer weather to parts of Europe in recent days.
"While it is not unusual for Saharan dust plumes to reach Europe, there has been an increase in the intensity and frequency of such episodes in recent years, which could be potentially attributed to changes in atmospheric circulation patterns," he said.
This latest episode has caused air quality to deteriorate in several countries, Copernicus said.
This Sahara dust is annoying ๐ซ pic.twitter.com/TuIAhjQtE6
โ ๐ ๐๐๐๐พ ๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ฝ๐พ๐๐๐๐๐ผ๐๐พ๐ (@Antje19777) April 8, 2024
The European Union's safe threshold for concentrations of PM10 -- coarser particles like sand and dust that that can irritate the nose and throat -- has already been exceeded in some locations.
The worst affected was the Iberian Peninsula in Spain but lesser air pollution spikes were also recorded in parts of Switzerland, France and Germany.
Ton's of Sahara dust over the Alps. pic.twitter.com/fEsgd5QiGn
โ antoine (@Chaos_Wanderer) April 8, 2024
READ ALSO:
Local authorities in southeastern and southern France announced that the air pollution threshold was breached on Saturday.
France: Sahara Dust this morning visible at the Pic du Midi at a height of 2877ย meters. pic.twitter.com/GQ0ZLADM0L
โ sch. (@sunnnnnnnnnnnny) April 7, 2024
They advised residents to avoid intense physical activity, particularly those with heart or respiratory problems.
The dust outbreak was expected to reach Sweden, Finland and northwest Russia before ending on Tuesday with a shift in weather patterns, Copernicus said.
The Sahara emits between 60 and 200 million tonnes of fine dust every year, which can travel thousands of kilometres (miles), carried by winds and certain meteorological conditions.
The sky looks like that everyday here in Germany.
โ Walter Andy Wand ๐=๐ฅถ! ๐คฌ๐คฎ๐คข (@toffewee74) April 7, 2024
This shit gotta stop!
Haven't seen a normal blue sky in months.
They call it #Saharadust here in Germany now.
Even when the wind blows from west or north ๐ค pic.twitter.com/TmHlMi9cKZ
The Spanish Canary Islands off the coast of northwest Africa saw just 12 days within a 90-day period from December to February where skies were free of Saharan dust, the local weather agency Aemet had reported.
Sand and Dust from The Sahara Desert in Africa ๐ท The Spanish weather phenomonon is called "Calima". Which just translates to Dust.
โ Robert Delgado-Pรฉrez ๐ฐโ๏ธ๐๐ฉธ๐ก๏ธ๐คบ (@IBMLinux) April 8, 2024
It is getting really thick today ๐ pic.twitter.com/Hnpflylan6
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