The largest dust storm in 50 years has hit the southeastern United States

The largest dust storm in the Sahara over the past 50 years has hit the United States and is heading to Florida, Texas and other states that are fighting COVID-19. This fact raises new fears of respiratory problems in Americans, writes Dailymail.

Photo: Shutterstock

The so-called Gorilla Dust Cloud hit the coast of the Mississippi Gulf on Thursday, June 25, after passing through the Caribbean Sea this week, where air quality dropped to “dangerous” levels.

The National Weather Service (NWS) reported that a 3500 mile (56 km) cloud flew 5000 miles (8 km) from North Africa and then reached an area extending from Florida west to Texas and north to North Carolina through Arkansas.

The storm will be located over the southeastern United States this weekend, June 27-28, and in the middle of next week, it will move on.

Experts warn people to stay inside their homes, including Texas and Florida, because the poor air quality caused by the dust storm, coupled with rapidly growing cases and hospitalization due to coronavirus, pose a double threat to public health.

Massive Saharan dust cloud shrouds #Mexico.#MexicoDustStorm #DustStorm #saharadustcloud #SaharanDust #saharandustcloud #storm #dustcloud #DustPlume pic.twitter.com/J0N3GAQgLV

- Annu Kaushik (@ AnnuKaushik253) June 26, 2020

Strong warm winds over the Sahara desert usually whisk sand at this time of the year and transport it across the Atlantic to the United States. But this year, dust is denser than ever in the past half century, several meteorologists said.

“It's a really dry layer of air that contains very fine dust particles. This happens every summer, said NWS meteorologist Patrick Blood. “Some of these plumes contain more particles, and we are now expecting a very large dust plume along the Gulf Coast.”

According to meteorologists, dry air mass that carries dust can suppress tropical storms and hurricanes, as well as enhance and illuminate sunrises and sunsets.

Over the past week, a dust cloud swept across the Atlantic from Africa, while covering areas of the Caribbean, in particular Jamaica, Barnados and Puerto Rico.

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The blue skies were turning into a milky brown haze, and the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, which usually towered over Kingston, were hidden behind a white cloud.

Air quality fell to a “dangerous” level, and weather forecasters on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, as well as Martinique, warned that the worst field curtain in the last ten years was observed in this area.

The dust cloud reached south Florida on Thursday, June 25, and is now moving through Texas to North Carolina and Arkansas, where residents should expect poor air quality, foggy skies and poor visibility until the middle of next week.

Concerns about the impact of Gorilla Dust Cloud on people's health are increasing, as it goes through the states, where a record number of new cases of coronavirus infection were recorded last week.

The 'Godzilla dust cloud' is set to hit the southern USA… ?

This huge dust plume has traveled over 5,000km from the Sahara Desert and has engulfed parts of Mexico and the Caribbean. It's so big you can see it from space!#dustcloud #duststorm #SaharaDesert pic.twitter.com/gSyK12Akho

- On Demand News (@ODN) June 25, 2020

“There is emerging evidence of a potential link between air pollution and the risk of COVID-19, so at this point we are concerned,” said Gregory Wellenius, a professor of environmental health at Boston University School of Public Health.

He added that air pollution can be especially harmful to people at risk or suffering from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.

Heart and lung problems increase the risk of developing a serious illness.

Relapse rates in the United States increased for more than a week after declining for more than six weeks. New cases and hospital admissions have reached record levels in states such as Arizona, Texas, California and Florida.

In Texas, the number of patients with COVID-19 more than doubled in two weeks, and more than 11 new cases were reported in the last two days alone.

Governor Greg Abbott announced that the state fears a serious crisis in terms of public health, so the weakening of quarantine has been suspended.

In Florida, the number of new daily cases rose to 5 on Wednesday, June 508, up 24% from June 25 (20).

Health experts urge residents in areas affected by the dust storm to stay inside homes, as this storm can weaken the respiratory system of people already at risk of contracting the virus.

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