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United States London sky has ‘orange’ tinge as Saharan dust cloud sweeps across UK
Saharan dust cloud sweeping over parts of the UK has turned London’s sky orange on Wednesday.
Social media was awash with dramatic photographs of the skies above the capital.
Many Londoners debated what colour hue it was - with everything from red to yellow, green and sepia being thrown into the mix.
Among the comments, one person said: “Anyone notice the sky over London is a weird yellow sepia colour?! what is happening?”
READ MOREAnother posted: “There is a really horrible coloured sky in West London this morning. Everything has a slight green tinge about it… Disconcerting.”
Explaining why the sky turns colour, Met Office forecaster Richard Miles said: “The orange effect is caused by the Rayleigh scattering, which is the same effect that gives you the blue sky.
“The additional dust will scatter the blue light and create more red light effects which gives sunsets their distinctive colour.
“So the more layers of dust in the atmosphere the right conditions will give you orange and red tints to the sky.”
He said the Saharan dust cloud was due to a storm system near Spain.
However, Mr Miles said there was no disruption expected as there was no “significant quantities” of dust to affect air quality.
“It will only be the effects that you see in the sky,” he said.
A Saharan dust cloud seen from Waterloo Bridge in London
PA
A Saharan dust cloud seen from Waterloo Bridge in London
PA
An orange sky is seen over a building in Navares, south eastern Spain, Monday March 14, 2022.
AP
This photograph taken on March 15, 2022 shows sand from Sahara that fell overnight covering the snow, in Piau-Engaly ski ressort, southern France.
AFP via Getty Images
Sahara dust drifts over central Switzerland near Mount Brisen and the village of Stans in the canton of Nidwalden, Switzerland
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A red and orange tinged sky is seen over the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain during the afternoon of Monday March 14, 2022.
AP
This photograph taken on March 15, 2022 shows sand from the Sahara that fell overnight covering a car in Madrid.
AFP via Getty Images
This photograph taken on March 15, 2022 shows sand from the Sahara that fell overnight covering a car in Madrid.
AFP via Getty Images
A worker cleans the dust from the Sahara desert at Sol square in Madrid, Spain
AP
This photograph taken on 15 March 2022 shows the city of Nantes, western France, under a yellow ochre sky caused by Saharan dust.
AFP via Getty Images
Taken from the top of the Strasbourg cathedral, the eastern France city of Strasbourg seems to be covered by an orange light as Sahara dust is moving in over the city, coloring the sky
AP
Taken from the top of the Strasbourg cathedral, the eastern France city of Strasbourg seems to be covered by an orange light as Sahara dust is moving in over the city, coloring the sky,
AP
A skier looks on as sand from Sahara felt overnight covering the snow, in Piau-Engaly ski ressort, southwestern France, on March 15, 2022.
AFP via Getty Images
A picture taken on March 15, 2022 shows a view of the courtyard of Blois castle, center France, as a mass of hot air from the Sahara desert dumped orange dust.
AFP via Getty Images
But he warned people may find some dust particles on their car windscreens.
Earlier on Wednesday, atmospheric scientist Dr Claire Ryder revealed which parts of the UK the Saharan dust cloud would sweep over.
“The plume is forecast to reach southern England during the early hours of Wednesday, covering areas from Dorset to Suffolk, with the southeast counties, particularly Kent, being the worst affected.” She 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.”
Mr Miles said there would not be an orange sunset because of damp conditions predicted later on Wednesday.
