The Sahara dust plume is expected to hang around southern skies through Tuesday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the giant cloud of dust from the Sahara Desert is part of an air layer that typically rolls across the Atlantic westward into parts of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico in late spring through early fall before spreading inland into the southern states.
Forecasters say that air quality has begun to significantly diminish because of the dust in the skies over Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas where in some instances air quality alerts have been issued. The phenomenon could reach into the Ohio Valley and the upper Midwest.
The bad air may affect those with asthma and who are suffering from respiratory system issues such as COPD, Pneumonia and COVID-19. Find out what areas are expected to get hit with the worst of the bad air at AirNow.gov
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