The south-east of France beneath a veil of Sahara sand | EUROtoday
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Lhe south-east of France was plunged this morning right into a heavy ambiance. The trigger is a thick cloud of sand from North Africa which remodeled the panorama of a number of cities, equivalent to Lyon, in addition to the Côte d'Azur and the Hautes-Alpes.
This Saturday, March 30 afternoon, the sky was tinged with an ocher shade, whereas a veil of sand from North Africa nonetheless persists within the ambiance, leaving its dusty imprint. This phenomenon, removed from being uncommon, is the results of highly effective winds having lifted the sand of the Sahara, forming clouds of mud which advance in the direction of our areas at excessive pace.
This mysterious orange cloud has additionally settled since Wednesday in a number of nations, together with Greece and Switzerland. In France, the height of sand takes place this Saturday March 30, however the state of affairs ought to steadily settle down, in line with Météo-France.
Several departments affected
In France, from the morning of Friday, the sky over Nice, within the Alpes-Maritimes, offered an uncommon look. The sand particles then affected the Alps, together with Mont Blanc, later within the afternoon. The identical state of affairs occurred in Grenoble and Isère on Friday, in line with info from the newspaper The Dauphiné liberated.
On Wednesday March 27, the town of Athens, Greece, additionally confronted this example, accompanied by exceptionally excessive temperatures, reaching 25.3°C. The clouds cleared from Friday March 29. Although the Greek capital is accustomed to this phenomenon, this 12 months it has made the air nearly unbreathable.
Fine particle air pollution alert
“An episode of large-scale desert particles has been sweeping through the region since yesterday, adding to local pollution of human origin,” alerted the prefect of the Paca area on X.
⚠️Episode of #pollution from the air to effective particles: stage 2 alert triggered immediately in Bouches-du-Rhône by @Prefect13.
An episode of large-scale desert particles has been sweeping by way of the area since yesterday, including to native air pollution of human origin.
THE… pic.twitter.com/Iy3aJCqZ8x— Prefect of the PACA area and Bouches-du-Rhône (@Prefet13) March 30, 2024
Indeed, the particles carried by African mud can combine with pollen, micro organism and fungi, thus forming a particularly dangerous and doubtlessly harmful combination for human well being, significantly for the respiratory system. This state of affairs results in effective particle air pollution in varied departments.
During one of these phenomenon, particularly within the occasion of respiratory or cardiac discomfort, the prefect of Bouches-du-Rhône recommends in a press launch, “to avoid intense efforts” and extra usually to restrict emissions of vehicle, industrial origin , artisanal and home, to favor non-polluting modes of journey and temporary outings, and at last to cut back intense bodily and sporting actions.
https://www.lepoint.fr/environnement/le-sud-est-de-la-france-sous-un-voile-de-sable-du-sahara-30-03-2024-2556371_1927.php