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WEATHER

Why Saharan sand could dampen Danish weather this weekend

A rainy week has been forecast to give way to a dry, warm weekend in Denmark, but an unexpected weather arrival could mean things don’t quite live up to expectations.

Published: 4 April 2024 17:43 CEST
Why Saharan sand could dampen Danish weather this weekend
Dust in the air could mean this weekend's temperatures don't live up to expectations. Photo by Eugene Chystiakov on Unsplash

The beginning of this week saw record rain levels for April, but Denmark residents hoping for pleasant spring weather could take comfort from the weekend forecast: an almost dry Saturday and Sunday with temperatures up to 18 degrees Celsius and even 20 degrees locally.

But the unexpected arrival of fine sand from the Sahara desert in air blowing across Denmark could mean the temperatures disappoint, according to a weather report from broadcaster DR.

That is because the fine sand can act similarly to dust clouds in the air and block some of the sunshine.

READ ALSO: Denmark gets rainiest April day for ‘over a century’

The dust can form condensation cores, enabling water in the atmosphere to gather and form clouds, DR writes.

High concentrations of dust – which could occur in Denmark this weekend if the Saharan sand reaches the country’s skies in large enough quantities – could therefore result in clouds and lower temperatures.

Because the warm front expected to reach the country on Saturday originated in Africa, it could contain dust from the Sahara, which was reportedly picked up on Thursday.

The warm temperatures forecast in Denmark this weekend depend on both clear, sunny skies and the warm front currently moving north towards the country.

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WEATHER

April set to be Denmark’s wettest for 150 years

Persistent rain throughout this month means a new mark for the wettest April on record is expected to be set.

Published: 26 April 2024 13:09 CEST
April set to be Denmark’s wettest for 150 years

There was a good chance the precipitation record for a the month of April will be broken on Friday.

The record has stood for 88 years.

By 9am on Friday some 94.9 millimetres of rain had fallen, with the downpour not showing any signs of relenting.

The wettest April on record in Denmark was in 1936, when the country received 98 millimetres.

“When we combine the amount of precipitation meteorologists expect with what we’ve already had, we expect to beat the old record sometime this afternoon,” Mikael Scharling, climatologist with national met office DMI, said.

April is normally among the driest months of the year in Denmark.

Rainfall records go back to 1874, with meaning that if the existing record is broken on Firday the month will be the wettest April Denmark has seen for at least 150 years.

The beginning of April brought particularly heavy rain but given the proximity of this weather to the end of March, the high total for April is to some degree a chance occurrence, Scharling said.

But the climatologist also noted the changes to weather systems caused by climate change.

“Climate changes are giving as more locked-in weather systems so we get long periods of drought and long periods of rain. That’s why we get both temperature records and precipitation records,” he said.

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