A quill of Saharan dust covered the snow in parts of Europe, thus, leaving the snow orange in colour. This rare phenomenon occurred on February 6, 2021 which also led to a rise in air pollution in southern and central Europe.
The heavy cloud of fine sand from the Sahara travelling through Algeria blanketed the region, leaving skies orange in Italy and other nations as well as leaving slopes of the Alps and Pyrenees look orange.
According to NASA’s website, the dust from the desert of Africa helps make beaches in the Caribbean and fertilizes Amazon’s soil. However, it can also influence air quality in South and North America.
Due to the natural phenomenon, European mountains looked like sand dunes, with orange snow. While, the apocalyptic may have seemed like the end of the world, the event had happened in Europe about four years ago.
The dust covering even the snow-laden valleys of Switzerland amused several social media users, with some of them comparing the ambiance to a Martian landscape.
Snow reflects a high amount of the incoming solar radiation. But the dust-covered snow absorbs more of the sun’s energy. Studies suggest that dirty snow can melt quicker than clean white snow. The Sahara Desert is one of the most popular sources of intercontinental dust storms on the planet.