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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.

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

It’s officially summer in Denmark!

The Danish Meteorological Institute has officially declared Wednesday the country's first day of summer, after a temperature of 25.2C was recorded in Stauning on the Ringkøbing fjord.

It's officially summer in Denmark!

DMI defines a summer’s day in Denmark as one where a temperature of at least 25C is recorded somewhere in the country. 

“The year’s first summer’s day is in the bag,” the institute announced on X, along with a link to temperature measurements updated in real time. “Could the temperature rise further during the afternoon?”. 

On Tuesday, Stauning came within a tenth of a degree of the summer threshold, with a temperature of 24.9C recorded. 

The earliest summer day ever recorded in Denmark came on April 17th, 1964, when the temperature reached 25.2 degrees at Klosterhede Plantage between Holstebro, Lemvig and Struer. The latest first day of summer recorded came in 2004, when Danes had to wait until July 30th before summer was declared. 

On average, the first summer’s day falls on May 23, according to TV2’s weather data from 1991 to 2020, so this year summer has come about a week early.

The first summer’s day came last year on May 22 with a measured temperature of 25.1C, and in 2022 it fell on May 18, with a temperature of 25.9C. 

Here are the current maxiumum temperatures so far recorded today: 

Here

Source: DMI
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