Weather: Will this year’s first desert dust threaten air quality?

For the first time this year, Europe is one A large amount of desert dust has been detected He was. This was announced by the European Union’s Copernicus Atmosphere Service on Tuesday. According to Copernicus’ predictions, the dust coming from North Africa may reach central and eastern Europe in the coming days, after crossing the Iberian Peninsula and France.

“typical The effect is a red or orange sky“But there is also potential for impacts on air quality at ground level, particularly in Portugal and Spain,” said Mark Barrington, chief scientist at Copernicus. According to Copernicus, the dust has already reached the Iberian Peninsula.

Just a little bit of dust in Switzerland at the moment

But Switzerland should be less trapped in the dust As Roger Perrett of Meteonews told 20 Minuten. “It won’t fall a lot of dust in this country, and you probably won’t even notice it,” says the meteorologist. Around Thursday night, when rain is expected, the droplets can wash dust from the sky and become visible on the roofs of some cars or other surfaces. “Compared to the previous year, however, marginal values ​​are to be expected,” says Perrett, referring to March 2021, when Desert dust, slopes full of ski areas Changed its color to orange.

The statement said that the impact of desert dust may affect human health and the energy sector. For example, allergies can be intensified. Dust particles in the atmosphere can also affect solar power generation.

The Atmospheric Monitoring Service is one of the many components of the European Union’s Copernicus programme. Among other things, it provides data on the atmosphere, oceans, land, climate change, security and energy obtained from satellite imagery.

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