An estimated 180,000 tons of desert dust turns the sky yellow
According to meteorologists, an exceptionally large amount of dust particles arrived in Switzerland.
Desert dust clouds the sky in St. Margaretenburg.
Photography: Gian Ehrenzeler (Keystone)
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Cloudy and yellow skies: An unusual amount of desert dust has settled over Switzerland. According to forecast models, this equates to 180,000 tons of dust, meteorologist Romain Broglie of SRF Meteo said over the radio.
Broglie says this is a very large amount. Recent similar events would have brought nearly half the amount of dust to Switzerland. Indeed, on Friday, a strong southerly current transported dust from the Sahara Desert in North Africa to Switzerland.
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The Sahara is the largest source of mineral dust, releasing between 60 and 200 million tons of dust annually. While larger particles fall quickly to the ground, smaller particles can be carried thousands of kilometers and reach the whole of Europe. Saharan dust events contribute significantly to aerosol pollution in spring and fall.
Fertilizer for nature
If desert dust is in the air, it reflects and scatters some of the sunlight. The sky turns yellow and the sunrises and sunsets become spectacular. If snow accumulates on the ice, it can, among other things, slow down skiing.
Dust particles in the air are an additional factor of uncertainty in weather forecasts. They can also enhance cloud formation. As for nature, minerals are good fertiliser.
Impact on health
Desert dust, which persists for a short period of time, is likely to have little impact on the health of the vast majority of people. Natural fine dust represents about one percent of the total concentrations of other fine dusts.
With an area of nine million square kilometres, the Sahara Desert is the largest dry desert in the world. It is the size of the entire United States of America and extends in Africa from the Atlantic coast to the Red Sea coast.
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