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WEATHER

Switzerland enjoys red sunset…thanks to Canadian wildfires

A dramatic dawn and sunset in parts of Switzerland on Tuesday was caused by smoke from wildfires in the Canadian province of British Colombia, meteorologists have said.

Published: 29 August 2018 09:08 CEST
Switzerland enjoys red sunset...thanks to Canadian wildfires
A satellite image of British Colombia, Canada from August 15th. Handout/ NASA Earth Observatory/AFP

Soot and ash from the fires affecting almost 5,000 square kilometres in Canada’s westernmost province were carried across the Atlantic by westerly winds, SRF Meteo said in statement.

The smoke from the fires in the province, where a state of emergency has been declared, took around three and a half days to reach Switzerland.

On Tuesday morning, fine particles of soot and ash – measuring just 2 to 3 microns across – filtered the sunlight causing red and yellow-tinged sunrises.

The same effect was seen in the evening.

Soot readings also shot up dramatically at the Jungfraujoch saddle in the Bernese Oberland, a popular tourist destination nearly 3,500 metres above sea level.

The phenomenon was also noted in the canton of Ticino on Sunday, according to government meteorological service MeteoSuisse.

Read also: Waterspouts form over Swiss lakes as cool weather hits

WEATHER

IN PICTURES: ‘Exceptional’ Sahara dust cloud hits Europe

An "exceptional" dust cloud from the Sahara is choking parts of Europe, the continent's climate monitor said on Monday, causing poor air quality and coating windows and cars in grime.

Published: 8 April 2024 14:15 CEST
IN PICTURES: 'Exceptional' Sahara dust cloud hits Europe

Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service said the latest plume, the third of its kind in recent weeks, was bringing hazy conditions to southern Europe and would sweep northward as far as Scandinavia.

Mark Parrington, senior scientist at Copernicus, said the latest event was related to a weather pattern that has brought warmer weather to parts of Europe in recent days.

“While it is not unusual for Saharan dust plumes to reach Europe, there has been an increase in the intensity and frequency of such episodes in recent years, which could be potentially attributed to changes in atmospheric circulation patterns,” he said.

This latest episode has caused air quality to deteriorate in several countries, Copernicus said.

The European Union’s safe threshold for concentrations of PM10 — coarser particles like sand and dust that that can irritate the nose and throat — has already been exceeded in some locations.

A picture taken on April 8, 2024 shows a rapeseed field under thick sand dust blown in from the Sahara, giving the sky a yellowish appearance near Daillens, western Switzerland. – An “exceptional” dust cloud from the Sahara is choking parts of Europe, the continent’s climate monitor said, causing poor air quality and coating windows and cars in grime. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

The worst affected was the Iberian Peninsula in Spain but lesser air pollution spikes were also recorded in parts of Switzerland, France and Germany.

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Local authorities in southeastern and southern France announced that the air pollution threshold was breached on Saturday.

They advised residents to avoid intense physical activity, particularly those with heart or respiratory problems.

The dust outbreak was expected to reach Sweden, Finland and northwest Russia before ending on Tuesday with a shift in weather patterns, Copernicus said.

The Sahara emits between 60 and 200 million tonnes of fine dust every year, which can travel thousands of kilometres (miles), carried by winds and certain meteorological conditions.

The Spanish Canary Islands off the coast of northwest Africa saw just 12 days within a 90-day period from December to February where skies were free of Saharan dust, the local weather agency Aemet had reported.

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