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 👋
Sahara dust over Munich
Have a nice week everyone 🤙😊💚💛 pic.twitter.com/E7JuvMJDQq— chrid 🇺🇦🕊 (@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 😫 pic.twitter.com/TuIAhjQtE6
— 𝖠𝗇𝗍𝗃𝖾 𝖲𝖾𝗂𝖽𝖾𝗇𝗌𝗍𝗂𝖼𝗄𝖾𝗋 (@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
— 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 2877 meters. pic.twitter.com/GQ0ZLADM0L
— sch. (@sunnnnnnnnnnnny) April 7, 2024
They advised residents to avoid intense physical activity, particularly those with heart or respiratory problems.
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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 🤔 pic.twitter.com/TmHlMi9cKZ— Walter Andy Wand 💉=🥶! 🤬🤮🤢 (@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 😷 The Spanish weather phenomonon is called “Calima”. Which just translates to Dust.
It is getting really thick today 👀 pic.twitter.com/Hnpflylan6
— Robert Delgado-Pérez 🏰⚔️💛🩸🛡️🤺 (@IBMLinux) April 8, 2024
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