A big cloud of dust from the Sahara Desert has been blowing across Europe for a few days now, as shown by forecasts from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS). CAMS routinely monitors dust transportation and has been providing updates on the severity of these episodes this year. According to images published Monday, this isn't the first recent occurrence, and it might be becoming more common. The most recent dust episode has been underway since April 6. Mark Parrington, a Senior Scientist at Copernicus, said, «This is the third Saharan dust episode in the past two weeks, linked to the recent warm weather in western Europe». He explained, «The two previous episodes mainly affected the Mediterranean and southern Europe, although some dust settled as far north as Scandinavia last weekend». Parrington added, «While Saharan dust reaching Europe isn't unusual, the intensity and frequency of these episodes have increased in recent years. Changes in atmospheric circulation patterns might be a contributing factor». Indeed, a recent study has showed that indeed, dust from the Sahara Desert, a vast desert spanning much of North Africa, has been increasingly blown into Western Europe due to recent changes in wind patterns and desertification. The study suggests that high-pressure systems over the Atlantic Ocean may be to blame for the extra dust. For the record, Copernicus is the Earth observation component of the European Union's space program, which delivers freely accessible operational data and services related to our planet and its environment.
