Florence, 20 June 2024 – In these days, i Tuscan skies are once again characterized by an unusual yellowish huedue to an increasingly frequent atmospheric phenomenon: the arrival of Saharan dust brought by the African anticyclone. But there is good news: from next Saturday the skies will be blue again and we will have cooler air.
From the Lamma consortium they explain that the current color of the skies is caused by positioning of the African anticyclone over Italy. This anticyclone, now a recurring protagonist of Italian summers, facilitates the influx of hot, dry air from the Sahara. This air is full of desert dust which, pushed towards Europe, disperses into the atmosphere and creates skies clouded in yellow.
The phenomenon is not new but it occurs with an increasing frequency in the last few years. “Until the 2000s, the Azores anticyclone brought beautiful summers. Mild air was arriving from the Atlantic, which made the summer climate more bearable,” explains Dal Lamma. Today, however, we are witnessing a greater presence of the African anticyclone.
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The causes? “They are not yet fully known – they explain from the Lamma, – but there is no doubt that global climate changes are altering traditional meteorological patterns, favoring a more south-north oriented atmospheric circulation”. Here because always more often even our region is tinged with yellow.
“It is a natural phenomenon that has always occurred, but its greater frequency is certainly linked to climate change,” add by Lamma, recall that “during these episodes, the air monitoring units detect an increase in fine dust concentrations”. “But these are natural, non-polluting powders,” they add. Luckily, from Saturday the skies will become clear again and temperatures will become more pleasant, stabilizing around 28-30 degrees. The change in the circulation of the winds, with the arrival of cooler airwill help dissipate Saharan dust and restore more pleasant weather conditions.
