A thin layer of Sahara dust will appear in the atmosphere above Drenthe tonight and tomorrow. The fine dust is carried to our region by air currents from North Africa and can cause the air to look slightly different than we are used to.
According to RTV Drenthe weatherwoman Grieta Spannenburg, the dust from the desert area enters the atmosphere high. “Tonight and tonight it is mainly in the upper air layers,” she explains. Most people will therefore hardly notice it on the ground.
If you think of a car covered in a layer of reddish dust, you don’t have to worry for the time being. The chance that the Sahara dust will actually settle in our province is small. An extra wash for the car does not seem necessary.
“You usually only really see it on your car when precipitation falls,” says Spannenburg. “And that doesn’t seem to be the case for the time being.” Without rain, the dust usually just hangs in the air at high altitudes.
However, the phenomenon can be visible if you look closely at the sky. It may appear slightly less bright blue than normal. That can produce beautiful photos. There may also be some cloudy skies tomorrow morning in which the Sahara dust may be subtly visible.
The dust may even have a small effect on the temperature in our province. “Saharan dust can moderate the warming of the air somewhat,” says Spannenburg.
This does not make much difference to the feeling of the weather. It remains mild for early March. A temperature of around 17 degrees is again expected in Drenthe on Friday.
