Monster Saharan dust cloud arrives in Mexico blotting out skies

Record ID: 1559339

  • Title: Monster Saharan dust cloud arrives in Mexico blotting out skies
  • Date: 25th June 2020
  • Summary: CAMPECHE, MEXICO (JUNE 25, 2020) (REUTERS) VIEW OVER CITY WITH DUSTY, OBSCURED SKY PALM BACKLIT AGAINST SKY DUSTY SKYLINE CITY VIEW SIGN WITH CITY'S NAME VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING ON STREETS AND SIDEWALKS WEARING FACE MASKS VIEW OF OCEAN VARIOUS OF LOCALS IN SQUARE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) METEOROLOGIST FROM CAMPECHE STATE'S CIVIL PROTECTION AGENCY, HUGO VILLA OBREGON, SAYING: "According to the monitoring of the shifting of the Saharan dust over the Yucatan peninsula, the dust will be here for a large part of this week, above all on Thursday and Friday (June 25 and 26) when we expect the highest concentrations of dust." CITY STREET
  • Embargoed: 10th July 2020 00:35
  • Keywords: Atlantic Caribbean Mexico Sahara drift dust cloud phenomenon sand sky storm weather
  • Location: CAMPECHE & MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
  • City: CAMPECHE & MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
  • Country: Mexico
  • Topics: Environment
  • Reuters ID: LVA001CJVDX6V
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Dusty skies and a strange tint in the air are a sign that the monster Saharan dust cloud has arrived in the coastal towns and beach resorts of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula.
    The 3,500-mile-long (5,600 km) cloud, dubbed the "Godzilla dust cloud," traveled the thousands of miles from North Africa before reaching the Caribbean and now Mexico.
    This year, the dust is the most dense it has been in over half a century according to meteorologists.
    The Saharan dust plume will hang over Mexico and the southeastern United States until the middle of next week, deteriorating the air quality in places where the number of COVID-19 cases has recently spiked.
    Air pollution can be especially detrimental for people who are at risk for or suffer from cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses according to health authorities. Heart and lung problems heighten the risk of severe COVID-19.
    The plume will create hazy skies and lower visibility. The dry air mass that carries the dust can suppress tropical storm and hurricane formation and can enhance and illuminate sunrises and sunsets, meteorologists said.
    (Production: Adrian Virgen, Manuel Carrillo, Patrick Alwine)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register