A vast plume of Saharan dust is expected to light up the skies over much of the UK this week.
The fine sand lifted from the deserts of north Africa will travel thousands of miles on warm southerly air currents and is expected to coat cars and other outdoor surfaces, forecasters said.
It will also transform sunrises and sunsets into displays of deep gold, amber and burnt orange.
However, when mixed with rain, it can leave deposits on cars and windows, a phenomenon known as blood rain.
The Met Office said: “The combination of warm air and Saharan dust may lead to some dusty deposits on cars or outdoor surfaces as the frontal rain washes the dust out of the atmosphere overnight into Friday.”
Saharan dust is relatively common in the UK when big dust storms in the Sahara coincide with southerly wind patterns. It can also affect air pollution and pollution levels, according to the Met Office.
The mixture of sand and dust is expected in the UK’s atmosphere over the next couple of days and could coincide with the warmest day of the year so far on Thursday, when temperatures may reach 19C in southern parts. Temperatures of 16-17C are forecast more widely, the Met Office said.
Honor Criswick, a Met Office meteorologist, said the band of cloud and rain on Thursday could be heavy at times. “There should be lots of long sunny periods until that rain starts pushing into the east,” she added.
It will be cloudier across much of England and Wales on Friday with temperature highs of 11C-12C expected, while Northern Ireland and Scotland will get more sunshine, Criswick said. The weekend will be a combination of patchy cloud and some sunshine, with highs of 12C-13C on Saturday and 14C on Sunday.
Last week, temperatures reached 18.7C in Kew Gardens in west London, which was the warmest day of the year so far.
