Massive Saharan dust cloud shrouds the Caribbean

A large cloud of Saharan dust has darkened the skies in excess of sections of the Caribbean.

The dust has been going from Africa above the Atlantic Ocean.

On Sunday it achieved Puerto Rico and has because coated Cuba and sections of Mexico.

The Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique are struggling their worst haze for at minimum a ten years, and wellness officers in Cuba are warning it could boost respiratory problems.

The dust cloud is also influencing areas of southern Florida, together with the metropolis of Miami.

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‘Unusually huge region of dust’

Analysis by BBC Weather conditions presenter Simon King

Dust and sandstorms are not unheard of in the desert locations of the entire world. Winds can whip the dust – up to 2,000 million tonnes just about every yr – substantial up into our environment and it will get transported many miles absent from the source.

The dust and sand supply a resource of nutrients for ocean ecosystems but can also affect the temperature and the overall health of people with respiratory difficulties.

Dust coming off the Sahara into the Atlantic is a frequent occurrence and is recognized as the Dry Air Saharan Layer. Afterwards in the hurricane period it can inhibit the advancement of tropical storms acquiring around Cape Verde and the mid-Atlantic.

Above the previous 7 days on the other hand we’ve experienced an unusually big location of dust travelling proper throughout the Atlantic influencing Central and North America. This is heading to hang about more than the weekend. Meanwhile an additional massive region of dust has been observed on satellite photographs transferring out of the Sahara and travelling across the Atlantic.

Lousy visibility and air excellent is forecast to go on in parts of the Caribbean and Central The united states in excess of the coming week.

On Sunday, it was the Venezuelan funds, Caracas, which noticed its hillside neighbourhoods shrouded in haze.

Tourists in San Juan in Puerto Rico got far more sand than they had bargained for on Monday.

Bridgetown in Barbados also appeared blanketed in the yellow dust on Monday.

In Cuba, people stopped to get images of the yellow-coloured sky on Wednesday.

Cuban health and fitness officials warned people that those people suffering from asthma and other respiratory issues could see their problems worsen.

Cuban meteorologist José Rubiera claimed that whilst Saharan dust clouds had been not unusual, the density of the current one was “effectively over standard concentrations”.

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