Dust storm from the Sahara to hit Ukraine again
27 May 2024 15:38
In the last week of May, Ukraine will be covered with Saharan dust again. The weather in the country will be warm, with thunderstorms covering most regions in the second half of the week. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to Meteoprog.
According to weather forecasters, in the first half of the week, weather conditions will be determined by the influence of a high atmospheric pressure field and air mass of Central Asian origin. Closer to the weekend, the country will be covered by rains and thunderstorms, which will be localised.
On27-28 May, dust from the desert regions of Central Asia is expected to enter our country. The sky may become cloudy, with a slight deterioration in visibility and the possibility of mild “dirty” rains. Due to a significant shortage of precipitation, an extraordinary level of fire danger will remain in most regions of the country.
on27 May, light short-term rains are expected in the southern regions and Crimea, with thunderstorms in some areas. on 28 May, unstable weather with rains and thunderstorms will continue in the regions. The rest of Ukraine will be mostly without precipitation.
on29 May, rains, sometimes with thunderstorms, are expected in the southern half and in the Carpathian region, in the central, western and some eastern regions. on 30 May, unstable weather is expected on the Right Bank of Ukraine with short-term rains and thunderstorms, with showers and hail possible in some places, as well as squally winds. on 31 May, there will be short-term rains with thunderstorms, hail and squalls are possible in some places.
onJune 1, there will be light rains with thunderstorms in some places, and thunderstorms are expected in the afternoon in most regions of the country, except for the southern and central regions. on 2 June, thunderstorms are expected in the afternoon in most parts of Ukraine, sometimes with hail and squalls.
As a reminder, on 31 March, a dust cloud from the Sahara Desert was observed in the western regions of Ukraine. Over the next few days, the cloud spread to most regions of Ukraine, and on 2 April, a powerful dust storm hit Kyiv.
What is a dust storm?
A duststorm is an atmospheric phenomenon of wind carrying large amounts of dust, sand, soil particles, etc. Dust storms can reach heights of several metres to several kilometres, and line of sight at their epicentre can be reduced to several tens of metres. If a dust storm is formed over sandy soils, it is called a sandstorm
A dust storm is formed when winds of 10 m/s or more blow over dry and sparsely vegetated soil. It lifts soil particles into the air and carries them over long distances. Such storms are most common in deserts and semi-deserts, arable steppes, etc. On the planet, they are common in the regions of North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and China. Dust storms can sometimes travel thousands of kilometres.
The frequency of dust storms has increased 10-fold since the 1950s. There are regions that suffer from this phenomenon more than others. For example, while in the 1960s Mauritania used to experience two such storms a year, since 2007 there have been about 80 per year.
