Sahara desert sand cloud spreads across Europe

Since Monday afternoon (14), inhabitants of various regions of Europe have been able to observe a curious phenomenon that has caused changes in the landscape of the skies, mainly in Portugal and Spain, in the Iberian Peninsula.

A cloud of dust from the Sahara, on the African continent, is moving to regions further north and, according to official bodies, it is an event with an intensity that has not happened for decades.

The forecast, according to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere, is that the dust should persist at least until the end of the 17th, Thursday.

Already in the projections of AEMET, the State Meteorological Agency of Spain, the wave of dust should start to dissipate from Wednesday (16) with the arrival of humid air from the Mediterranean Sea, which can even cause heavy precipitation in the peninsular Mediterranean region of the country and the Balearic Islands.

Satellite images also show how Storm Celia moved the sand cloud that originated in the African desert. The phenomenon moved northwards, towards the Iberian Peninsula, and then eastwards, reaching some regions of France and Switzerland.

Product imágenes🛰️ RGB of octopus that identifies in pink magenta el #polvoensuspension On the pink patch of the octopus, other cloudy layers are superimposed in reddish colors.Using data #Meteosat11 @eumetsat
Images every 15 minutes between 10 UTC on the 14th and 7:45 UTC on the 15th of March pic.twitter.com/V4vMfp7tg6

— AEMET (@AEMET_Esp) March 15, 2022

Health Alerts

Metsul, the meteorological information portal, warns of worsening air quality due to suspended particles. In principle, dust is not toxic, but the accumulation of large amounts in the respiratory system can worsen the health status of people who already have or are predisposed to respiratory problems.

The city hall of Madrid, for example, advises people with this type of illness not to exercise outdoors. They also advise the public to use public transport to reduce the simultaneous amount of harmful particles in the air.

Other health officials recommend keeping doors and windows closed, and wearing protective masks. Another suggestion is to drink a lot of fluids to avoid dehydration.

Causes of the Phenomenon

Also according to Metsul experts, the arrival of dust in Europe is the consequence of the sandstorm that affected Morocco in recent days.

The “calima”, name of the phenomenon, is quite common in the country, which has a desert climate, and sometimes ends up spreading to the European continent by wind currents, especially when they come from the South quadrant.

In February 2021, a big calima event also arrived in France.

The most visible effects are the change in the color of the sky, as dust is normally above the surface, although depending on its concentration it can reach lower levels with implications for air quality and possible health impacts.

What is “calma”?

“Calima is a meteorological phenomenon that occurs in the atmosphere. Its main feature is that it has a large number of dust and sand particles.

In this way, it also reduces visibility. When it falls with the rain, it brings “rain of clay” or “rain of blood”.

Such a high concentration of these particles reduces visibility, but it can also cause other harm to humans.

It is different from fog, which is the condensation of water particles in the environment. This literal ground-level cloud formation can have multiple impacts on driving due to reduced visibility.

However, it does not cause any health effects. Simply, the humidity in the environment is higher.

The difference between calima and fog is precisely the composition of the particles that reduce visibility. While in fog and fog they are particles of condensed water forming clouds, in calima they are particles of dust, sand, ash and even clay.”