HAVE you noticed dust on your car over recent mornings? What about our sunsets, have you noticed how spectacular they’ve been over the past week? It’s all down to the return of the sands from the Sahara.
For the first time in a couple of years, a plume of dust and sand from the largest desert on Earth has descended on the north west of Ireland, having been sucked up into the atmosphere over Africa and transported to western Europe.
If not for the spectacular spring sunshine we’ve been enjoying, we could have been looking at a spell of ‘blood rain’ as a result of the dust cloud this week.
Instead, it’s been creating hazy skies to the west and stunning sunsets over the lakelands.
Some have also noticed themselves over using their car window washer on their way to work, with some cars appearing to attract more dust than others.
On Monday the Met Office shared a satellite image of the dust cloud traveling northward over the west of Ireland.
“As in other parts of the world, the wind can blow strongly over deserts – whipping up dust and sand high into the sky. If the winds in the upper part of the atmosphere are blowing north, the dust can be carried as far as the UK,” said a Met Office spokesman.
“Once it is lifted from the ground by strong winds, clouds of dust can reach very high altitudes and be transported worldwide, covering thousands of miles.”
Meanwhile, this fine spring weather is due to continue for the rest of the week, according to Met Éireann.
While the haze is due to increase, with the possibility of mist and fog from today (Wednesday) onwards, it is due to remain dry until at least Sunday, when conditions are forecast to turn more unsettled.
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