Martinique and Guadeloupe have been traversed for several days by a "haze of dust of a greater intensity than in the last ten years", said Météo-France in Guadeloupe on Wednesday. The prefectures of Guadeloupe and Martinique have launched "alert procedures".
In Guadeloupe, Soufriere disappeared behind a thick mist of dust, also called "mist of sand" by the inhabitants and the local media. If for several years this arrival of dust from the Sahara has been reproducing fairly regularly in the Antilles, this time, "the intensity is more important than in the last ten years", underlines Cécile Marie-Luce, head of the forecast service at the Météo- France of Guadeloupe.
Tuesday, in Guadeloupe, the concentration of PM10 fine particles in the air greatly exceeded the alert threshold, namely 80 μg / m3 on average over 24 hours, said the prefecture of Guadeloupe in a joint press release with Gwad'Air, which controls the air quality of the territory.
Teleworking encouraged
It is therefore asked in particular to the inhabitants of the archipelago to postpone certain maintenance work such as mowing its lawn, and in the transport sector, to "limit the use of diesel vehicles not equipped with particulate filters, and the transit road transport ". It is also asked to "encourage the use of telework for agents of State services and administrations when this device exists".
Météo-France said Wednesday that the arrival of a tropical wave should mitigate the phenomenon but a return of the sand mist is announced for Friday.