When a mass of hot air from the Sahara desert rises, sand dust is never far away. The case already occurred in France last Friday. The sky changed from blue/gray to yellow/orange first in the South-East before reaching the Alps, and Mont Blanc in particular.
The sand will therefore return on the weekend of April 6 and 7. “The country must prepare for a new massive influx of sand dust from the Sahara,” warned meteorologist Guillaume Séchet, adding that the concentrations were expected to be “significant”.
🟤 Our country must prepare for a new massive influx of #sand dust from the #Sahara! Concentrations are expected to be significant this weekend of April 6 and 7, 2024. Our article ➡️ https://t.co/wTf5agq3L5 pic.twitter.com/eFoxCpyjMT
— Guillaume Séchet (@Meteovilles) April 2, 2024
This new episode is linked to a heat wave which will also hit France on Friday and Saturday. Temperatures in most regions will reach a level worthy of the height of summer. A depression in the Atlantic could, moreover, play a role as a “heat pump”.
“A large part of the territory” affected by the wave
These factors combined seem to make the return of sand to the skies of France “inevitable”. “The latest models envisage a significant episode over a large part of France (…). Significant concentrations are expected, similar to those observed in the south-east of the country last week but this time over a large part of the territory,” estimates Guillaume Séchet.
VIDEO. The sky turns orange in the south-east of France, because of the sand from the Sahara
According to the expert, a large quantity of Sahara sand could “attenuate the sun's rays and encourage the formation of a thick cloud cover, likely to slow down the rise in temperatures”.
Sand can cause more or less significant pollution. Fine particle alerts were triggered in six departments last week. “The danger to health of these particles depends on their diameter,” explained Bruno Mégarbane, head of the intensive care unit at Lariboisière hospital, on BFMTV. The consequences mainly result in irritation of the respiratory tract.