Air Pollution Warning Covers Wrexham Area

Warnings are in place as air pollution is increasing today and tomorrow due to a mix of emissions and dust from the Sahara.

A large amount of sand and dust was swept up by storm winds in the desert, around 2000 miles away in northwest Africa. The airborne particles were blown north to the UK where they combined with our warm air and were deposited during showers.

The Met Office have issues the following two forecast images , with this being the outlook today:

Tomorrow is set to be worse, however Friday is ‘green’ which by the key is clear.

The key is expanded to explain ‘yellow’ ratings mean for ‘at-risk individuals’ “Adults and children with lung problems, and adults with heart problems, who experience symptoms, should consider reducing strenuous physical activity, particularly outdoors.”

With ‘red’ being noted for ‘at-risk individuals’ as “Adults and children with lung problems, and adults with heart problems, should reduce strenuous physical exertion, particularly outdoors, and particularly if they experience symptoms. People with asthma may find they need to use their reliever inhaler more often. Older people should also reduce physical exertion.”

The red warning is of concern to all members of the population as the guidance states “Anyone experiencing discomfort such as sore eyes, cough or sore throat should consider reducing activity, particularly outdoors.”

For more details you can read the DEFRA’s pages here and here.

Paul Hutcheon at the Met Office said “We usually see this happen several times a year when big dust storms in the Sahara coincide with southerly winds to bring that dust here. More dust rain is possible during showers expected later this week.”

Saharan dust is lifted by strong winds and can reach very high altitudes; from there it can be transported worldwide by winds, covering distances of thousands of kilometers. The dust gets caught in rain droplets in clouds, falling to the ground in rain. When the water evaporates, a thin layer of dust is left on surfaces, like cars. It can also lead to vivid sunsets.

@Manicwelshgirl tweeted us the above picture of a ‘dust and sand cloud’ over Caia yesterday morning. If you spot any red sand, or odd dust and cloud over the next 48 hours pop us an email to [email protected] !