On Saturday, the sky fluctuated between yellow and orange over part of France, especially in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and in the Pyrenees.
A phenomenon of sirocco from the Mediterranean which is not really dangerous for health.
"I hallucinated when I woke up, I thought it was the last judgment!"
Like this Twitter user, many inhabitants of southern and eastern France were surprised to observe, Saturday morning, a thick ocher veil forming over their heads.
An atmosphere that looks like an apocalypse which owes nothing to the current period, also very troubled because of the Covid-19.
It is rather a meteorological phenomenon, fortunately without gravity, coming straight from the Mediterranean area.
The #sand coming up from #Sahara gives this orange aspect to the sky above #Grenoble this morning.
pic.twitter.com/1UIo8yUcOm
- The Weather Channel (@lachainemeteo) February 6, 2021
Sand sucked from the Sahara
As several specialists explain, it is a phenomenon of sirocco which occurred this weekend and which is not uncommon in winter.
"It is explained by a cold air at altitude which plunges to Morocco and which leads to strong winds on the northwest of the Sahara", specifies Olivier Proust, forecaster at Météo France, au
Monde
.
This sand then rises towards France and stabilizes in height, mixing in particular with the snow to give this particular color.
#Orange sky also visible on a Center-East part as well as on the #Toulouse side.
@ GLaulau3 and @ Meteo_Pyrenees # sable # saharahttps: //t.co/zcus3LCqh5pic.twitter.com/Hou4Xztr3h
- Météo-France (@meteofrance) February 6, 2021
This dust then falls on the bumpers of cars and can be removed with high pressure water, rather than with rollers, which could cause scratches on the body.
And the sirocco should not last longer than the day, before being shifted to central Europe.
The sand of #sahara also passed through the Aude (Sigean) pic.twitter.com/NZ8RdHCvd9
- Isabelle Bortolin (@ iza_bo30) February 6, 2021