An exceptional quantity of dust from the Sahara has shrouded the Swiss sky since Friday, dramatically reducing visibility and giving a yellowish tint to daylight over much of the country.
“The arrival of #dust from the #Sahara leads to a very clear decline in sunshine and visibility. There is also an increase in concentrations of fine particles
,” underlines MétéoSuisse in a message on 'to the rest of the country.
AirCHeck, the application launched by the cantons to deliver real-time data on air quality in Switzerland, air pollution is high in a corridor from the southwest to the northeast of the country. This dust reached some 180,000 tonnes, according to the calculation models used, meteorologist Roman Brogli of SRF Meteo told public radio.
Orange tint
This is an exceptionally high quantity, according to Roman Brogli, with recent events of this type having only brought half of this volume to Switzerland. Already on Friday, a strong southerly wind had transported sand from the Sahara from northern Africa to Switzerland. The Sahara is the largest source of mineral dust, releasing between 60 and 200 million tonnes per year and while the larger particles fall quickly to the ground, the smaller ones can be transported thousands of kilometers and reach all of Europe .
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As it settles, this sand gives an orange tint to the snow. If this dust cannot scratch skis, as MeteoSwiss has assured, it can, however, have an effect on melting, particularly that of glaciers. By reducing the reflective power of ice, dust facilitates the absorption of solar energy. The situation should quickly improve and the phenomenon should have disappeared by Sunday morning.