180,000 tons of Saharan dust turns the sky yellow
According to meteorologists, an exceptionally high amount of dust particles have reached Switzerland.
Saharan dust clouds the sky in St Markenberg.
Photo: Gian Ehrenseller (Keystone)
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Cloudy and yellow skies: An unusual amount of Saharan dust has settled in Switzerland. According to forecast models, this equates to 180,000 tonnes of dust, meteorologist Roman Broglie from SRF Meteo said on radio.
This is an extraordinarily large amount, says Brockley. Recent such events would have brought dust to half of Switzerland. Already on Friday, a strong southerly current carried dust from the Sahara desert in North Africa to Switzerland.
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The Sahara is the largest source of mineral dust, releasing 60 to 200 million tons of dust annually. While larger particles fall quickly to the ground, smaller ones can be carried thousands of kilometers and reach the whole of Europe. Saharan dust events contribute significantly to aerosol pollution in spring and autumn.
Natural fertilizers
If Saharan dust is in the air, it will reflect and scatter some of the sunlight. The sky turns yellow and the sunrise and sunset are spectacular. If it accumulates on the snow, it can, among other things, slow down skiing.
Airborne dust particles are an additional uncertainty factor for weather forecasts. They can promote cloud formation. However, for nature, minerals are a good fertilizer.
Impact on health
Short-term exposure to Saharan dust may have a minor impact on most people's health. Natural fine dust is one percent of the other total fine dust concentration.
Covering nine million square kilometers, the Sahara is the world's largest dry desert. It covers the entire USA and extends from the Atlantic coast to the Red Sea coast in Africa.
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