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Sahara dust over Ehrenkirchen: The sky also shimmers yellowish in Baden-Württemberg
Photo: Philipp von Ditfurth / dpa
A warm breeze of spring with sunshine is moving to Germany.
According to the German Weather Service (DWD), not only milder air finds its way to us, but also dust from the Sahara.
"So the sun could still appear very milky in an otherwise cloudless sky," the meteorologists in Offenbach explain.
The first images from Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg show how the dust bathes the sky in an unusual shade of yellow.
According to the meteorologists, the desert dust from North Africa consists of tiny grains of sand that influence solar radiation.
On the one hand, the atmosphere is clouded, on the other hand, the particles also contribute to cloud formation.
Insolation is therefore doubly restricted.
Dust in Spain
In Spain, people are already dealing with masses of dust covering sidewalks, roads, roofs and vehicles.
The air was very dusty in places, the sky was hazy in many places, sometimes yellow, sometimes orange or red.
The newspaper "El País" spoke of a "spectacular event" that had not happened for many years.
Cities such as Almería in the south, Alicante, Valencia and Cartagena in the east and Madrid and Segovia in the center of the country were among those affected.
Like many doctors, Madrid Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida warned that the air quality was very poor due to the dust.
Outdoor activities should be avoided as much as possible.
Elderly citizens and small children as well as all people with heart and respiratory problems are particularly at risk, it said.
Many still went out into the streets to take photos or to pick up some desert dust and carry it home.
They often wore mouth and nose protection.
The phenomenon is called »calima« or »lluvia de sangre« (»blood rain«) in Spain because it is usually accompanied by precipitation – which was not the case this time in most regions.
A low-pressure area causes winds that transport desert dust from Africa to Europe.
This is not uncommon though.
But this time the phenomenon was particularly violent and impressive.
Meteorologists were quoted by the state television station RTVE as saying that a "calima" had not been this strong for decades.
The phenomenon will continue for two or three days.
In Germany up to 20 degrees
Such dimensions of the dust phenomenon are not to be expected in Germany.
According to the meteorologists, the temperatures here climb up to 18 degrees on Wednesday, in the southwest there are also up to 20 degrees.
It gets fresher at a maximum of eight to ten degrees on the Baltic Sea.
At first some clouds and the last raindrops can be seen in the south-east, then "a lot of sun" from the afternoon.
At night, a light frost is to be expected, especially in the mountains.
The week continues inconsistently: On Thursday, the foothills of a small North Sea low are noticeable, which should bring rain, especially for the north and parts of the middle of the country.
"In the south and east, where the sun can shine for a longer period of time, it's a little warmer than in the north," according to the DWD.
"Parts of the Sahara dust can be washed out with the rain," according to the meteorologists.
Overall, the concentration also decreases significantly towards Friday.
On Thursday, the highs will be twelve to 19 degrees, in the north-west it will be a little cooler.
On Friday, with increasing high pressure, the sun should appear nationwide with a few exceptions, with temperatures of up to 17 degrees.
ptz/dpa