Environment
The Sahara Desert Is Blanketing Europe in Dust
Grainy clouds wafting their way north have contributed to pollution woes in London.
Folks waking up in Eastern Europe with weird, rust-colored coatings on their cars can blame the Sahara Desert, which recently belched up immense dust clouds that have floated as far north as Sweden.
The above image from NASA’s OMPS blog shows dense concentrations of airborne aerosols swirling over northern Africa on Monday, with sandy tongues extending into Italy, France, and elsewhere. The dust was thick enough to trigger health alerts in London this week, as it was expected to form a cap that traps toxic chemicals from farming operations at low levels.