Sahara dust causing hazy skies in the USVI
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| Published on Friday, May 9, 2008 |
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By Susan Mann
Caribbean Net News US Virgin Islands Correspondent
Email: susan@caribbeannetnews.com
ST THOMAS, USVI: The US Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources has advised the public that the hazy skies across the Virgin Islands region over the last several days are a result of dust from the Sahara Desert. The dust reduces visibility and results in poor air quality.
Due to the dust storms and a rise in warm air, the sand in the Sahara rises above the desert. This rise of accompanying warm air lifts the dust particles about 15,000 feet above the African deserts and these particles travel westward. As a result, several hundred million tons of African dust can be transported over the Atlantic basin.
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| A satellite picture released last month by NASA, shows dust blowing northward out of the Sahara Desert and over the Mediterranean Sea. Rather than dissipating over the Mediterranean, the dust plume remained relatively coherent. AFP PHOTO / NASA MODIS |
The government has advised the Virgin Islands public to remove (or divert) their downspouts to avoid potential contaminants from being washed into their cisterns.
At this point, the Department does not advise the public to boil cistern water supplies. This will be necessary only if it is determined that biological contaminants were present. Nonetheless, the Department is also recommending that bottled water be used for drinking until further assessments are made on the impact of cistern water supplies.
Brian Seeley, Senior Forecaster at the National Weather Service in San Juan, Puerto Rico has explained that dust is mainly present in the eastern Caribbean. The haze in the skies will continue for another few days.
Sahara dust storms pass through the region several times a year, but mainly in the spring and throughout the summer months. On a more positive note, certain meteorological circles claim that the airborne particulates inhibit the likelihood of thunderstorms and thus tropical storm development during hurricane season. |
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