New clouds of sand from the Sahara are expected over France

The episode is expected to last until Wednesday and once again cover the landscape with ocher dust.

A sky tinged with yellow, dust on the ground after the rain… The southerly winds will once again bring us sand from the Sahara, until next Wednesday. The meteorological situation lends itself particularly well to this phenomenon at the start of the week, since on the one hand, strong winds in northern Africa, particularly in Morocco, favor the flight of this dust and on the other hand, a depression over the west of the European continent favors the establishment of air flows which suck up this dust on this side of the Mediterranean.

The Sahara is the largest source of mineral dust in the world, releasing 60 to 200 million tonnes per year when swept by violent winds. According to Météo France, a first veil of sand has already reached the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region and Languedoc on Sunday. Monday April 29 and Tuesday April 30, these fine particles of sand will affect Corsica and the south-east of France before being evacuated.

This phenomenon has been repeated several times since the start of the year and is becoming more and more frequent. According to the European space observatory Copernicus, the intensity and frequency of these episodes of dust transport from the Sahara has increased in recent years, due to changes in atmospheric circulation and the repetition of droughts which favor the flight of sediments.
Furthermore, these episodes are also seasonal, to the extent that they depend on wind conditions. However, we are in the middle of the season since it is the beginning of spring, the most active period for the transport of Saharan dust to Europe.

A limited health risk

Exposure to this very fine sand dust, essentially less than 10 micrometers, can trigger respiratory discomfort in sensitive people. But this time, according to Copernicus forecasts, a large part of the cloud will fly over Corsica and eastern France at altitude, rather above 1,000 meters, and this should limit this effect on the health.

On the other hand, in the event of rain, this sand dust will be found stuck to the ground, and this will be seen in particular on cars, garden tables, or tree leaves.