Danger for allergy sufferers

Now it’s raining desert dust

Saharan dust is on the cards again for this weekend. The air mass is extremely warm for the time of year.

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

Huge cascades of sand have now been stirred up in North Africa. Air currents are currently transporting billions of these particles to us - lockdown for allergy sufferers!

It's almost eerie when it shimmers pale yellow on the horizon and the air shimmers like a watercolor painting! This natural phenomenon is once again on the cards for the weekend - and Sunday could be the earliest hot day since weather records began (see video above). This is because an extremely warm air mass for the time of year from northwest Africa is set to catapult unimaginable masses of dust in the atmosphere to Europe from Sunday.

Saharan dust turns Austria's mountains a visible golden color

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

In the Sahara, powerful sandstorms are part of everyday life.

(Bild: EPA)

As reported several times in the "Krone" newspaper, the particles last passed over Austria in a mass of clouds at high altitude on Holy Saturday - and bathed the sky in light to pale yellow. The most visible sign of these messengers from the desert - the brilliant white of local glaciers and even the last snow fields had suddenly changed color.

Nutrients such as calcium and magnesium
However, this is by no means a disadvantage, especially for the world's most sensitive and climate-relevant paradises. The 500 million tons of dust that are produced in the Sahara every year play an important role in supplying the forests with vital nutrients such as calcium and magnesium. For example, 40 million tons of these substances reach the Amazon rainforests every year. But Saharan dust also contributes to "atmospheric" fertilization on the Iberian Peninsula.

Its influence on our climate has not yet been fully researched. However, the dust in the atmosphere is not only the cause of spectacular orange-red sunrises and sunsets, it is also likely to have a direct influence on weather patterns.

Facts about Saharan dust

• The infamous Saharan dust is blown up by the wind and travels great distances in the atmosphere as an aerosol.
• In favorable weather conditions, the particles are transported to layers of air several kilometers high.
• The dust takes just over two days to reach us.
• The iron-rich particles leave behind rust-brown deposits, which is why the term "blood rain" has been used historically.

Saharan dust meets pollen bloom
"It has been proven that aerosols dampen solar radiation and thus temperatures - but this could also cushion the melting in our Alpine regions at least a little and seasonally," says Gerhard Heilingbrunner, Honorary President of the Environmental Umbrella Association. Nevertheless, the "cloudburst-like" yellow sky freight means something of a lockdown for hundreds of thousands of allergy sufferers. Especially because it intensifies with the peak pollen bloom. It is not yet possible to predict exactly when the meteorological spook will be over again.