The sky is “hazy, dusty and ocher” until Saturday: the wind will again carry sand from the Sahara to France

Be careful, the sky will change color soon. Due to the winds that will blow from the south of the Sahara this Wednesday, sand from the desert will spread into the skies over France in the coming days, said La Chaîne Météo this Tuesday.

Forecasts from specialist channels suggest the desert dust will pass over Spain on Wednesday morning, before passing over the Pyrenees in mid-morning.

The sky is “hazy” and “dusty”.

All of France will then be hit by sand from the Sahara on Thursday and Friday, according to La Chaîne Météo. The dust will even reach eastern Europe, according to estimates.

Consequences: this sand “will provide a hazy, dusty and ocher appearance in the sky until Saturday”, explains La Chaîne Météo.

As Météo France points out, this arrival of Sahara sands in European skies will most likely occur in winter, with the disturbance spreading “far to the south, with the center of low pressure descending as far north-west as North Africa”.

“Optical phenomena”

“The depression, associated with the strong winds it generates, then lifts the sand in the African desert. In the context of a strong and regular southerly flow from the Maghreb to the coasts of Europe, the particles transported by the wind cross the sea and can be deposited as far south as Europe,” continued Météo France.

The changing color of the sky is caused by “an optical phenomenon due to diffusion in dust particles which can be observed in ocher color, to orange and red if the sun is low on the horizon (setting, rising)”.

The influx of sand from the Sahara into the sky can affect air quality, as it is added to other polluting particles, Météo France further warned.