DUST from the Sahara has hit Britain leaving a fine layer of the particles covering cars and vehicles.
The Met Office has confirmed the plume has blown all the way from northern Africa and landed in parts of the UK this morning.
It’s actually quite common for dust from the Sahara to arrive in the UK and happens several times a year, according to the weather forecaster.
Met Office meteorologist Nicola Maxey said that while air quality could be affected it was unlikely to have much of an impact.
Earlier this month, the weather forecaster shared a satellite image of a huge cloud of dust moving across the Atlantic Ocean.
A post on X, formerly Twitter, read: “This amazing image captures a plume of Saharan dust moving out of Africa and into the Atlantic.
“Some of this dust will make its way towards us over the coming days…”
Ms Maxey told The Sun Online: “It happens a number of times a year. It’s actually relatively common.”
However, the right weather conditions are needed for it to be noticeable – a combination of winds blowing in the direction of the UK and the right amount of rain.
Dr Andy Whittamore, clinical lead at Asthma + Lung UK and a practising GP, said: “People with lung conditions, especially asthma, might find that the fine dust particles from the Sahara cause irritation to their lungs, which could result in them coughing and wheezing more or producing extra mucus.
“In many cases, these symptoms can be treated with a reliever inhaler, so it is important that people have one with them.
“This sort of irritation can cause asthma attacks and flare-ups of other lung conditions so we would advise people to follow their asthma action plan and to know what to do if they do have an asthma attack or exacerbation.
“We have advice on how to deal with an asthma attack on our website www.asthmaandlung.org.uk.
“Any additional air pollution is worrying at this time of year when so many people are getting over viruses and struggling with the colder weather.
“Their lungs might already be more inflamed than usual, and the Saharan dust could make their breathing worse.
“That is why we always encourage people with lung conditions to take their preventer medication every day as prescribed and to check their inhaler technique with a healthcare professional.”
Some rain is needed to help bring the dust to land although if it is too heavy it just washes the dust away and it not really noticeable.
Ms Maxey said: “It has to be fairly light rain, if it’s heavy it just washes away the dust.”
SAHARAN dust clouds are a mixture of sand and dust from the Sahara, a desert area that covers most of North Africa.
Strong winds can collect sand from the desert high into the sky and into the upper atmosphere.
Once it has been lifted off the ground, clouds of dust can reach very high altitudes and be transported worldwide.
For the dust to get from up in the sky down to the ground, it needs to rain.
As raindrops fall, they collect particles of dust on the way down.
When the raindrops land and evaporate, they leave behind a layer of dust.
Saharan dust reaches the UK around several times a year when big dust storms in the Sahara coincide with southerly wind patterns.
In certain weather situations, Saharan dust can also affect air pollution and pollution levels.
Source: Met Office
The dust is expected to last just for today although there could be some signs of it tomorrow as well.
It’s not clear just how much of the country will be covered as the Met Office said it was dependant on the strength of the winds and how much rain there was.
Similar dust clouds hit the UK in 2022 but there was also one in 2019.
The clouds can bring with them urgent health alerts as they can trigger severe asthma attacks, experts have warned.
It comes in the wake of Storm Isha and Storm Jocelyn which wreaked havoc across the UK.
