Huge plume of Saharan dust traveling over Atlantic, several plumes hitting SE Europe

A huge plume of Saharan dust is currently being transported over the Atlantic Ocean. At the same time, several plumes are moving toward southeastern Europe as well as towards the Alps.

What scientists working at CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, a part of EU's Earth Observation Program), called 'an enormous plume of Saharan dust' is currently transporting westward over Cape Verde and further west toward northern South America, the Caribbean and Central America.

"The desert dust is transported over long distances at relatively low altitudes. This can affect the air quality on the Cape Verde islands," they said.

At the same time, a very active desert dust season is bringing even more Saharan dust towards Mediterranean countries.

"The current CAMS dust forecast shows several plumes moving towards southeastern Europe as well as towards the Alps," CAMS scientists said.

The animation below shows how the Alps are splitting the plume of desert dust into two.

Both plumes have the potential to cause significantly increased levels of small particles (PM10) at surface levels.

The latest daily dust forecasts from CAMS are available from both the global forecast system and the European forecast system. ​

Featured image courtesy Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS)