Experts have warned that a thin line of orange-red Sahara Dust is set to blanket the UK, covering cars, homes and streets. The dust will fall along with rain after being picked up in Africa and carried across the sea.
Sahara Dust is fine particles of sand and mineral lifted from the surface of the Sahara Desert in North Africa and transported across the Atlantic Ocean. This natural occurrence can contribute to soil fertility but can also affect air quality and visibility, and may impact respiratory health.
In some areas, Saharan dust can lead to hazy skies and vibrant sunsets. It can also influence weather patterns and even suppress tropical storm development by creating dry and stable atmospheric conditions.
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Meteorologist Nick Finnis, with Netweather, said: “The strengthening southerly wind on Sunday ahead of the cold front moving in from the west will also pull north Sahara dust that’s been spilling out of west Africa out across the Atlantic today.”
“The dust load greatest across northern and western areas on Sunday where southerly wind will be strongest, before the greatest dust load shifts further south and east on Monday. Some of this dust will fall on to surfaces on the ground, such as cars, more particularly where rain is expected with an area of low pressure moving northeast… There is some uncertainty over the path of this rain across England and Wales for now.”
The Met Office explains that Sahara Dust is more likely to be seen in the UK during winter if there are mild and unsettled conditions, combined with a stronger jetstream.
Strong winds regularly blowing across the Sahara lift dust and sand high into the sky, winds in the atmosphere at between 3,000ft and 7,000ft thousand feet can transport the dust thousands of miles. When winds are blowing from a southerly direction, the dust is transported towards the UK. For dust to get back down to the ground, it needs to be washed out of the sky by rain.
As raindrops fall they collect particles of dust on the way and when raindrops land and eventually evaporate they leave behind a fine layer of red dust, often visible on vehicles.
The dust comes as rain is forecast across much of the country for the next few days.
For most people, Saturday will be dry with sunny spells, although it will become cloudier later in the west with patchy drizzle. In northern Scotland, outbreaks of rain are likely, slowly moving south over the mainland, the forecaster said.
A yellow wind warning is out for north-east Scotland, with strong gusts up to 70mph possible in some spots. The Met Office says Saturday night will be cloudy with a bit of rain up north and west, but drier for others.
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The Met Office’s Craig Snell shared: “In southern parts it will be a dryer weekend with sunny spells, but there will be a fair bit of cloud around.” He also mentioned, “In the north it will remain changeable.”
This weekend, temperatures will hover around 8-10C, but Sunday could get warmer, up to 15C, though still wet and windy in the North West. Down in the South East, it’s looking bright and mostly dry, despite some clouds.
Mr. Snell added: “On Sunday, it will turn quite windy again.” He reassured that the winds won’t be as severe as recent storms, but some local issues might pop up. He also said, “There is a very mild Sunday to come, all of us will be in double figures. Temperatures could reach the mid-teens in places like North Wales and Northern Ireland.”
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story.
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