The Department of
Planning and Natural Resources is advising the public that the hazy
skies in the Virgin Islands are a result of dust from the Sahara
Desert. The dust reduces visibility and results in poor air quality.
Due to the dust storms and a rise in warm air, the sand in the
Sahara rises above the desert. This rise of accompanying warm air
lifts the dust particles about 15,000 feet above the African deserts
and these particles travel westward. As a result, several hundred
million tons of African dust can be transported over the Atlantic
basin.
The Department
is advising the public in the affected area to remove (or
discontinue) their downspouts to avoid potential contaminants from
being washed into their cisterns. At this point, the
Department does not advise the public to boil cistern water
supplies. This will be necessary only if it is determined that
biological contaminants were present. Nonetheless, it is
recommended that the bottled water be used for drinking until
further assessments are made on the impact of cistern water
supplies.
Brian Seeley,
Senior Forecaster at the National Weather Service in San Juan,
Puerto Rico has explained that dust is mainly present in the eastern
Caribbean. The haze in the skies will continue for another few
days.
Sahara dust
storms pass through the region several times a year, but mainly in
the spring and throughout the summer months. On a more positive
note, certain meteorological circles claim that the airborne
particulates inhibit thunderstorm and thus tropical storm
development during hurricane season.
The current
wind direction is from the southeast at 15 to 20 miles per hour.
For more
information contact the Division of Environmental Protection at
773-1082 or
774-3320 or go to
www.nasa.gov or
