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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Abigail Nicholson

Sahara dust storm: Why was my car covered in red dust this morning?

Some people have woken up to red dust covering their vehicles this morning as a dust storm turned the skies red.

The Sahara dust storm led to 'stunning' red and pink skies being spotted over Merseyside on Wednesday, March 16. The beautiful colours were caused by a mixture of sand and dust from the Sahara desert being blow across the UK.

According to the Met Office dust clouds from the Sahara reach the UK several times a year, but they have warned some of the dust may fall onto vehicles.

READ MORE: Sahara dust storm behind stunning orange and pink skies over Merseyside

The Met Office posted this warning on Twitter: "We can see the Saharan Dust that has pushed across Spain and France, into southeast England Whilst this dust is mostly about 2km above ground level, some deposits may fall to the ground, especially during today's rain in southern parts of the UK."

One man in London posted on social media to ask why all the cars on his street were "dusty and muddy" after it rained. He said: "What kind of rain did we just have? The sky is a weird orange colour and I go out to my car and its all dusty/muddy. All the parked cars I passed were had the same dust/mud on them."

As well as being linked to colourful skies, these dust clouds can affect air quality. The European Union’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service said it is tracking the large cloud that has “degraded air quality across large parts of Spain, Portugal and France”.

While Spain is bearing the brunt of the storm, the dust spread much further afield. Spain’s national weather service said the particles could reach as far north as the Netherlands and western Germany.

Hundreds of people took to social media on Wednesday evening to ask why the sky looked so 'brilliant' and shared pictures.

Keith Jones said "Brilliant night sky", while Twitter user Sophie2405 added "Tonight’s sky is so pretty, no filter."

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