IN IMAGES, IN PICTURES. Sahara sand: significant quantities in the air this Saturday, what is this phenomenon due to ?

| March 30, 2024 | News | No Comments

IN IMAGES, IN PICTURES. Sahara sand: significant quantities in the air this Saturday, what is this phenomenon due to ?

Au Lautaret, dans les Hautes-Alpes, la blancheur de la neige fait ressortir la couleur du ciel. X @Thomasblanchar2

Ce samedi 30 mars, la couleur du ciel est marquée par la présence de particules de sable venues du Sahara, donnant lieu à des paysages aux allures surnaturelles.

If you haven't noticed it in the air, you will surely notice it on your windshields. The air is loaded with particles of sand from the Sahara this Saturday, March 30. Over a large part of France and even more markedly in the south-east, the atmosphere is orange-yellow.

If this phenomenon is not rare, it seems that its intensity will be notable this Saturday. This is evidenced by the numerous posts on social networks and the explanations from meteorologists.

"Rarely observed in these proportions"

Forecaster Gaëtan Heymes, who shares images of the Alps where the whiteness of the snow particularly highlights the color of the air, explains that the phenomenon, "n’is not unprecedented but rarely observed in these proportions.

Météo France explains, also on its X account, how this phenomenon takes place. Originally, it was therefore a cloud of sand, which formed in the north of Algeria " ahead of an unstable system associated with strong ground winds. It was then transported to our regions thanks to the rapid southerly flow at altitude".

Is it dangerous ?

It remains to be seen whether these sand particles have an impact on health. In an article dated 2022 and brought forward for the occasion, Météo France explains that "these dusts present in the air are added to other polluting particles and contribute to degrading air quality.

So; Atmo Occitanie predicts, in the departments of Gard and Hérault, an episode of PM10 suspended particle pollution this Saturday March 30. In question, the passage of a "air mass loaded with desert particles" which has been observed since Friday March 29 and continues today, Saturday March 30, on the Mediterranean coast. 

Internet users share their photos

Images of the landscape or cars and other terraces covered with this sand are numerous on social networks. In Provence, the Alps and Occitanie, the phenomenon is particularly observable.

 

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