where is the sahara dust cloud right now

“This is the most significant event in the past 50 years,” Pablo Méndez Lázaro, from the University of Puerto Rico’s School of Public Health, told the Associated Press. The dust plume, which has been traversing thousands of feet above the Atlantic ocean, arrived in central America earlier this week, covering the majority of the central and western Gulf of Mexico with haze engulfing the region. A large desert dust plume from the Sahara desert in north Africa is closing in on the United States. President Trump Tests Positive for COVID-19, President Trump and First Lady Test Positive For Coronavirus, Amazon: Nearly 20,000 Workers Test Positive For Coronavirus, Where China Stands on the U.S. Presidential Election, Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know now on politics, health and more, © 2020 TIME USA, LLC. By clicking “I agree” below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our, Read a limited number of articles each month, You consent to the use of cookies and tracking by us and third parties to provide you with personalized ads, Unlimited access to washingtonpost.com on any device, Unlimited access to all Washington Post apps, No on-site advertising or third-party ad tracking.

The cloud—which has been called the Godzilla Dust Cloud—forms annually but is significantly larger this year. Because we don’t have enough going on in the world right now, a gargantuan plume of dust is currently making its way from the Sahara Desert to the United States. Although the cloud has already worsened air quality in the United States, the dry and warm air of the dust plume tends to inhibit the development of hurricanes, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A couple look at the sea as a vast cloud of Sahara dust is blanketing the city of Havana on June 24, 2020. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. We rely on readers like you to uphold a free press. We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Sahara Desert 'Godzilla' Dust Cloud Approaching the United States. A massive cloud of Saharan dust darkened much of Cuba on Wednesday and began to affect air quality in Florida, sparking warnings to people with respiratory illnesses to stay home. You also agree to our Terms of Service. The dust layer, which originated in the Sahara desert and drifted across the Atlantic, is forecast to continue moving north and east through the weekend, impacting areas from … The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. On satellite imagery, dust plumes are typically difficult to spot. Amazing how large an area it covers!”. The Saharan dust storm is part of a regular meteorological phenomenon that sends dust from the Sahara Desert to the Gulf Coast of the United States, the Caribbean, and South America… But this year, the cloud could clearly be seen from space. On June 21, astronaut Doug Hurlet tweeted a photo of the cloud, writing “We flew over this Saharan dust plume today in the west central Atlantic. On Thursday, the cloud arrived in Texas and is expected to keep moving towards the northeast over the weekend. On the heels of the first wave of dust is a second, albeit tamer, cloud of gritty sand again drifting west across the ocean. The cloud has now traveled about 5,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean, already reaching the Caribbean and Mexico as this ABC 7 report showed: As … See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. “Conditions are dangerous in many Caribbean islands.”. A massive plume of dust from the Sahara desert in northern Africa has been traversing the atmosphere, thousands of feet above the tropical Atlantic Ocean, and … By clicking “I agree” below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. All Rights Reserved. This content is currently not available in your region. A couple look at the sea as a vast cloud of Sahara dust is blanketing the city of Havana on June 24, 2020. A massive cloud of Saharan dust darkened much … The dust is forecast to be primarily concentrated over Gulf Coast states, but some could expand farther north into Oklahoma, Arkansas and eastward into Tennessee, Kottlowski said…