Spanish skies have been tinted blood orange by a mass of Saharan dust passing over the country - with the UK potentially feeling the effects soon.
A mass of hot air covered the Mediterranean country this morning, with Spaniards waking up to an eerily glowing sky - Wales Online reports. Storm Celia has been dubbed responsible for the Saharan dust which hit southern parts of Spain, with Madrid and Murcia among the worst hit locations.
Laboratorio de Climatologia at the University of Alicante has warned people against staying outside for long periods, and that they should wear masks if they do so, reports the Mirror. Spanish officials have also issued extremely poor air quality ratings, with locals in some parts told to avoid exercising altogether.
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The air change has also affected the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands. And experts have now warned that the dust cloud is currently making its way to the UK, with BBC weather presenter Carol Kirkwood saying the poor air quality could be experienced in Britain as soon as Wednesday.
"There has been very poor air quality today in parts of Spain, and it could well affect us in the southeast and East Anglia on Wednesday", she said.
Clinical lead at Asthma UK, Dr Andy Whittamore, has also previously warned of the risks posed by Saharan dust.
He said: "Toxic air can leave people struggling for breath and can cause wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath and even a life-threatening asthma attack. Saharan dust could pose a serious risk to the 5.4m people in the UK with asthma.
"Dust and other types of air pollution are a well-known trigger for people with asthma. People with asthma must make sure they carry their reliever inhaler (usually blue) with them at all times in case their symptoms worsen.
"We also advise people with asthma to continue to manage their condition with their preventer inhaler (usually brown) as this will help to reduce the inflammation in their airways and make them less likely to react to asthma triggers."
This follows on in a similar stead from an event in 2017, in which the sky also turned orange across the UK. The cause of that remarkable incident was reported to be dust and smoke from fires in southern Europe which had traversed northbound to the United Kingdom.
