A sandstorm sweeping north from the Sahara has turned skies in southern England orange.
Particles carried on high winds from the African desert reached Britain in the early hours of this morning, covering areas from Dorset to Suffolk, with the southeast counties, particularly Kent, being the worst affected.
Parts of southern Spain have been blanketed with red dust after a thick plume turned skies orange, while satellite images clearly show the dust over France.
Dr Claire Ryder, of University of Reading, said: “People are likely to see surfaces such as cars getting dusty and red, and air quality may be slightly lower than usual due to the dust particles in the air.
“The dust has been transported more than 1,500 miles to the UK from Algeria and Morocco over the last two days, driven by strong winds from Storm Celia, named by the Spanish Meteorological Agency.”
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Despite concerns that air quality could be impacted, a band of rain is expected to disperse the cloud and mitigate any potential harm.
Simon Birkett, of Clean Air in London, said: “London and southeast England may be clipped by the current episode later today. But that is due to coincide with steady rain so any additional health impact is likely to be minimal because the rain will catch the particles in the sky before people can breathe them.”
A statement from Imperial College London said that the dust was not expected to affect air quality significantly.
Today was due to be cloudy for most of England, Wales and eastern Scotland, with rain becoming heavier and more widespread later in the day in central and eastern areas, according to the Met Office. The rain in England is expected to begin to clear as many regions turn cold, with patchy frost and some rural mist. Showers, frost and fog will continue to affect parts of the UK for the rest of the week.
The Met Office issued a pollen warning for the end of the week and the weekend with temperatures of up to 18C expected in parts of the country after the rain clears.
