Yesterday, when I woke up to bright sunlight, I expected the clear blue skies I had seen all week. Instead, I was greeted by clouds. Except- I wasn’t looking at clouds. What I saw was a thin film of dust caused by the Sahara dust storm, which recently reached the United States. Having never seen something like this before, I decided to look more into it.
How did it form? Dust storms occur when particles of dirt are brought into the sky by wind. While most of this dust falls back down, the smaller particles remain in the atmosphere and can travel thousands of kilometers before dissipating. According to NASA, dirt from the Sahara desert regularly travels across the Atlantic.
Why is this storm so important? Forecasters say this is one of the greatest dust storms that has happened in decades. Called the Saharan Air Layer, the mass of dust will form over the Sahara Desert and cross the Atlantic every three to five days from late spring to fall and can be up to two miles thick. For a common occurrence to be so big is concerning.
How does it affect us? According to New York Post, there are three things to look for when determining how serious the dust cloud is: size, concentration, and composition of the particles. Smaller particles have the potential to not only cause respiratory issues but cardiovascular issues as well. The more concentrated particles are, the higher the risk there is for negative health impacts. As for composition, as particles travel, they pick up various pollutants which causes the dust to be more toxic when it lands.
What can we do? To find out how big a storm is going to be, watch the news. If they predict a larger dust cloud coming in, try to limit your exposure by staying inside as much as possible or by wearing a mask when you do go outside (which you should be doing anyway to protect yourself from COVID-19).
No one seems to be sure why this particular dust cloud was so large. It’s all the more reason to be more careful.
Sources
Rice, Doyle. “The Sahara Dust Storm Has Reached the US Mainland. Here’s What It Looks like.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 27 June 2020, www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/06/26/sahara-dust-cloud-storm-reaches-us-mainland/3264731001/.
Miller, Ron, and Ina Tegen. “NASA GISS: Science Briefs: Desert Dust, Dust Storms and Climate.” NASA, NASA, www.giss.nasa.gov/research/briefs/miller_01/.
Fonrouge, Gabrielle. “What Are the Health Impacts of the Sahara Dust Storm?” New York Post, New York Post, 26 June 2020, nypost.com/2020/06/26/what-are-the-health-impacts-of-the-sahara-dust-storm/.