Cloudy over Austria

Dusty greeting from the south: this is Saharan dust

A southerly current carries air and fine particles from North Africa to Europe - the Nordkette mountain range above Innsbruck also disappeared behind it.

(Bild: Manuel Schwaiger)

The Saharan dust that is currently shrouding Austria in a hazy cloud is expected to last until Monday. What the phenomenon has to do with the Föhn wind and how it affects our lives.

Where have the mountains gone? That's something you can rightly ask yourself in Tyrol and most of Austria at the moment, as the Sahara dust is clouding visibility in the distance. "We currently have a low that is extending far to the south, as far as North Africa," explains meteorologist Susanne Drechsel from GeoSphere Austria in Innsbruck. "The wind there is picking up everything that is dry, and if the current lasts long enough, it will reach us." So it's not just sand from the Sahara that the wind is whipping around our ears right now.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV)

Incidentally, it's no coincidence that the foehn is also causing us problems at the moment. "You need a southern exposure for that, just like with Saharan dust. If we have that, we also get a foehn," explains Drechsel.

Dust affects health and electricity production
The characteristic Tyrolean downslope wind also contributes to the negative impact of dust on our air quality. According to GeoSphere, Saharan dust in Central Europe is mostly found in higher air layers between 2.5 and 3.5 kilometers above the ground. There it does not have a significant effect on the air quality on the ground. "However, in certain flow situations with good vertical mixing, for example during foehn winds, a proportion of Saharan dust can also reach the lower air layers and contribute to the concentration of particulate matter on the ground," the meteorologists explain. Due to the small size of its particles, this (Saharan) fine dust can reach deep into our lungs and is therefore not healthy for us.

Despite the foehn-like weather, Tyrol was gloomy on Saturday.

(Bild: Manuel Schwaiger)

Even those who completed their spring cleaning before Easter will not be happy: the windows were cleaned for nothing because of the dust particles that settle on them.

The fine particles from the south also make the air cloudy - so cloudy that less sunlight reaches us. According to GeoSphere, photovoltaic systems are therefore producing significantly less electricity than when the air is clear.

Start of the new week brings a change in the weather
So it's good that the current weather situation will soon be over again: "The Föhn storm will pass with the cold front that will move over Tyrol from Monday," announces meteorologist Drechsel, "and as soon as there is precipitation, the Sahara dust will be washed out of the air and deposited on the ground." Then it may well be that the remaining ski slopes for the last few days of the ski season will not be bright white, but yellowish-orange.

However, the peak of the stress is already behind us (see graphic above). According to GeoSphere Austria, the highest level of pollution was on Saturday with 1200 milligrams per square meter - so we shouldn't let the greeting from the south dampen our spirits. Happy Easter!