A cloud of sand will plunge over France this week

After the cloud of exceptional sand that swept across France on last march 15then that of March 28 a little less strong, a new cloud of sand from the Sahara will hit the country from next Tuesday. The famous sirocco will still be talked about next week: this wind storm blowing over the Sahara will propel the desert sand in the atmosphere and these particles will concern France at the start and middle of the week.

This powerful southerly flow should generate significant amounts of dust: a priori, these will be present in greater quantity than during the event of March 28, but perhaps not as much as during the sand cloud of March 15 which had caused an orange sky over a large part of the country and the coloring of the mountains.

Mild Tuesday, followed by sandy rain Wednesday

The rise of this air hot and dry from North Africa will cause temperatures to rise in France: the 20°C mark could be reached over a large part of the country next Tuesday. From Wednesday, the return of more disturbed weather should lead to the return of sandy rains, information to take into account for those who wish to wash their vehicle in the coming days!

France under a cloud of sand from the Sahara until at least Thursday

Article of Karine Durandpublished on March 16, 2022

A powerful southerly flow continues to bring large amounts of Saharan sand over the country until Thursday. Discover the images of the southwest covered in sand, from the mountains of the Pyrenees to the coasts of the Atlantic.

A vigorous flow from south to south-east, called “sirocco” in meteorology, colored the skies of the Maghreb, Spain and a large part of France. This brings up mild air, but also causes a cloud of sand to travel from the Sahara to France and beyond, towards the British Isles and the Netherlands.

The wind blew up to 110 km / h in North Africa and the autan wind up to 100 km / h in the Southwest on Monday, propelling these dust particles across the whole region. A situation that occurs on average one to three times a year in the south of France, with varying intensity.

Dusty skies, colorful mountains and a pollution episode

This week’s episode, one of the strongest in the last 10 years, especially this Tuesday, and a significant layer of sand covered the Pyrenean peaks, making them look like Sahara dunes! This coloring of coat Pyrenean snow will have an effect on the albedo, by reducing the reflective power of the snow: therefore, brown snow should melt much faster than white snow.

Sand is also present on roads and cars from the Occitanie region to Ile-de-France, including in Paris after the sandy rains of Monday evening and Tuesday morning, an exceptional event.

This rising sand is not insignificant, since during the strongest episodes, a fine particle pollution peak can be registered. This degradation of air quality linked to particles PM10 is likely to aggravate respiratory problems in people who are already susceptible. This sand contains not only pollutants, but also bacteria and mushrooms.

This atmosphere dusty also has another consequence, that of veiling the sky, and even coloring it during the strongest episodes. This past Tuesday and Wednesday, the sky appeared hazy over a large part of the country, limiting the intensity of the rays of sun. This milky sky took on an orange color over three quarters of the country, as has already happened in recent years in the same type of weather situation. Due to this cloud cover laden with sand, the temperatures which were to skyrocket on Wednesday are finally lower than expected. The phenomenon will continue this Thursday, before a change in the direction of the winds and the return of the rain between Thursday evening and Friday morning.

In Algeria and Spain on Monday, the sky turned red, giving an apocalyptic atmosphere over southern Europe and the Maghreb.