Saharan dust storm hits Caribbean

Posted by Anita Froneman on 25 June 2020

A dust storm originating from the Sahara desert has moved across the Caribbean and is expected to infiltrate the United States soon.

Claire Ryder from the University of Reading told CNN that this type of dust volume is unusual.

Dust clouds the skies over the Caribbean islands.

‘Usually by the time dust from the Sahara has traveled this far, much of it has been dispersed and/or deposited to the ocean so that typically this long-range transport to the Americas would involve much lower concentrations,’ Ryder said.

Ryder explained that the initial dust episode that occurred over the past weekend was driven by a few different smaller storm systems over central and west Africa.

These thunderstorms then caused downdrafts and large-scale haboobs (dust storms) to develop, which led to a large amount of dust being uplifted into the atmosphere from the Sahara.

‘It’s certainly the most intense, large-scale dust event I have ever seen,’ she added.

Aerosol scattering values reached the highest levels since observations began in Puerto Rico more than two decades ago, reports The Washington Post. 

The storm’s aerosol optical depth values reached a reading of 1.8, a significantly high reading as any value above 1.5 reduces the direct sunlight reaching the earth’s surface to almost 20%.

The dust plume settled over Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Hispaniola, and eastern Cuba on Tuesday, June 23 and continued to thicken. The dust is forecast to continue moving and hit the southern US Thursday, June 26, reports CNN.

The Barbados Meteorological Services issued a Severe Dust Haze Warning, urging residents and especially those with underlying respiratory issues to take caution.

 

Image credit: Twitter/IslandGirlPRV






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