Sahara dust in Grindelwald – A greeting from the desert.

Sahara dust in Grindelwald - Chalet Anemone

Sahara dust in Grindelwald – A greeting from the desert.

Sahara dust in Grindelwald – A greeting from the desert.

A dust cloud from the Sahara has reached Switzerland and provides spectacular moods, of course, also with us in the Bernese Oberland and brings us spectacular pictures of the Eiger. The spectacle was exceptionally strong and easy to see. And it comes very early in the year. Because Sahara dust we usually see almost only in spring and autumn.

A southern current brought a lot of Sahara dust to Switzerland on Friday and Saturday. This not only fills the coffers of car wash owners, but also leads to cloudiness of the sky and more clouds. For the first time since last November, Sahara dust reaches us again. Calculations show that the dust cloud reaches Europe with a southwesterly high-altitude current from North Africa across the Mediterranean Sea. Especially on Friday and Saturday, the concentration of Sahara dust over Switzerland was high and thus also influenced our weather.

Cloudy skies and trouble for meteorologists

In small quantities, the Sahara dust is hardly noticeable. However, if the concentration is high, as it was on Friday and Saturday, the large amount of dust in the air leads to a clear clouding of the sky. For example, long-distance visibility is significantly reduced and the sun’s rays are dimmed. In addition, the small dust particles act as condensation nuclei and can thus promote the formation of clouds. Unfortunately, this process is not equally pronounced in every Saharan dust event, making it difficult for meteorologists to accurately forecast cloud cover.

The floating Eiffel Tower.
A short calculation of the Sahara dust density at noon on Saturday: The Sahara dust concentration was 2 grams per square meter. Given the size, respectively the area of Switzerland, there were 82’670 tons of Sahara dust in the air. With that, one could easily fill 165’100 sandboxes of 500kg each or let 8 Eifel towers hover over Switzerland.

One man’s joy is another man’s sorrow. The Sahara dust leaves its traces not only in the sky but also on earth. Especially with the help of the rain, the dust is deposited. So on Sunday, one or the other motorist will be annoyed by a layer of dust on his car and the owners of car washes will be happy about full coffers.

Sahara dust in Grindelwald – natural fertilizer

The Sahara dust also has its positive side for nature. The many nutrients of the dust have a fertilizer function for plants. A study shows, for example, that Sahara dust is very important for the diversity of plant life in the Amazon region. The trade winds carry the dust from Africa across the Atlantic to South America, and in the Amazon region alone, around 40 million tons of Sahara dust are deposited every year.