‘Exceptional’ mud cloud from Sahara sweeps Europe, says local weather monitor | EUROtoday

Issued on: 09/04/2024 – 09:22

1 min

Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service stated the newest plume, the third of its form in current weeks, was bringing hazy circumstances to southern Europe and would sweep northward so far as Scandinavia.

Mark Parrington, senior scientist at Copernicus, stated the newest occasion was associated to a climate sample that has introduced hotter climate to elements of Europe in current 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 stated.

This newest episode has brought on air high quality to deteriorate in a number of international locations, Copernicus stated.

The European Union’s secure threshold for concentrations of PM10 — coarser particles like sand and mud that that may irritate the nostril and throat — has already been exceeded in some areas.

The worst affected was the Iberian Peninsula in Spain however lesser air air pollution spikes have been additionally recorded in elements of Switzerland, France and Germany.

Local authorities in southeastern and southern France introduced that the air air pollution threshold was breached on Saturday.

They suggested residents to keep away from intense bodily exercise, significantly these with coronary heart or respiratory issues.

The mud outbreak was anticipated to achieve Sweden, Finland and northwest Russia earlier than ending on Tuesday with a shift in climate patterns, Copernicus stated.

The Sahara emits between 60 and 200 million tonnes of tremendous mud yearly, which might journey hundreds of kilometres (miles), carried by winds and sure meteorological circumstances.

The Spanish Canary Islands off the coast of northwest Africa noticed simply 12 days inside a 90-day interval from December to February the place skies have been freed from Saharan mud, the native climate company Aemet had reported.

(AFP)