British Harmattan

THE AFRICAN SAHARA SENDS SAND TO EUROPE

If you're in the UK, or Western Europe, and are wondering why the sky looks so yellow, especially if you have overcast conditions, then what you are looking at is sand from the African Sahara. It's probably also why it's been quite warm in the past few days.

It's probably measurable on the ground with the right equipment, but there's not enough sand for most people to notice a big difference. Looking up, though, I recognised it immediately. A quick look at some posts about it also confirmed what I was looking at. It can bee seen in Switzerland, Belgium and France, judging by the posts I've seen so far on social media.

In West Africa, a region bordering the Sahara to the south, it's a yearly occurrence. In fact, it's an entire season - Harmattan. It's caused by a massive north-westerly wind that blows across West Africa into the Atlantic ocean. This carries with it a lot of sand, depositing it along the way. Because it's dry season already, there is no rain to wash the sand out of the atmosphere, or from the vegetation. As such, the entire region takes on a dry and dusty Sahel-like look, even the forests and densely tropical regions.

By mid March, right about now, the rains would have started washing the sand away. The winds would have also changing direction, replaced by humid and moist winds from the Gulf of Guinea and tropical storms. The winds are also pushed north into the Mediterranean and Europe, bringing warm air and eventually Summer as the Siberian winds are defeated and pushed back north.

Normally the sand isn't visible as far north as England, but sometimes (like today) it is. It is more noticeable in the south of Europe and the Mediterranean where most of the sandy beaches were in fact sanded by the Sahara. All the beaches in the Canary Islands, and others in the Atlantic Ocean, as well as parts of the Americas, were also sanded by the mighty African Sahara desert. How crazy is that?

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Nuclear Radiation

Last year some radiation was detectible, though apparently not harmful, in the Sahara sand that reached Europe. This is due to the nuclear tests that France carried out in North Africa years ago. Yup, France detonated nuclear bombs in the African Sahara, as well as in the Pacific Ocean.Reference.

Who knows what kind of damage was done in the sea, or to the health of desert dwellers of Africa. Who knows what the health consequences have been in West Africa, having been showered with a dose of French nuclear radiation annually for so many years. We will never know, nobody gives a damn about such things.

Peace & Love,

Adé