🌍 Hey adventurers and curious minds! Ever seen the Alps under a golden sky? This weekend, an exceptionally rare Saharan dust storm painted Switzerland and southeastern France in shades of yellow! 💛
The phenomenon kicked off on Friday in Switzerland, bringing with it a noticeable dimming of sunlight and a drop in visibility. Not to mention, air quality took a hit with increased fine particles. 😷 The MeteoSuisse weather service shared on X (formerly Twitter): \"A very clear worsening of sunlight and visibility. Added to that is an increase in concentrations of fine particles.\"
With the dust hanging below 3,000 meters, air quality monitors like Switzerland's airCHeck app showed high pollution levels stretching from southwest to northeast. 🌫️ Roman Brogli from SRF Meteo estimated that about 180,000 tonnes of dust were floating around—double the usual amount during such events!
Over in France, local authorities in the southeast sounded the alarm as pollution thresholds were breached on Saturday. The Hérault department urged residents to take it easy, especially those with heart or respiratory issues. ❤️🩹
Did you know the Sahara Desert sends out between 60 to 200 million tonnes of mineral dust every year? 🏜️ While the big particles settle quickly, the tiny ones can travel thousands of kilometers! This dust can give snow an orange tint and even speed up glacier melting by reducing the ice's ability to reflect sunlight. 🏔️✨
Don't worry though—the skies are expected to clear up by Sunday. So if you're in the area, keep an eye out for that golden glow before it fades! 🌅
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
