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Epic Sandstorm Suffocates Middle East

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EastIdahoNews.com Staff

East Idaho News

ABC SANDSTORM MARQUARDT 150211 DG 4x3 992? SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1423658301910Alexander Marquardt/ABC News(JERUSALEM) — For the third day in a row, the Middle East awoke Wednesday to the wind whipping and sand flying. And it’s only getting worse.

A massive dust belt is moving from the Sahara Desert all the way up to Turkey, according to NASA. The space agency said a cyclone that crossed Africa’s Atlas Mountains is to blame for the dust everywhere else.

It’s typical to see high concentrations of dust in the atmosphere near the point where the storm originated, according to NASA scientist Colin Seftor. But it’s “quite unusual” to see dust so far from the source.

And that’s exactly what we’re seeing.

The timing also is unusual. As meteorologist Peter Knippertz said, according to NASA, “Such intense dust storms over the Mediterranean are most common in spring, so this is clearly early for the season.”

In Israel, the Environmental Protection Ministry reported the highest levels of air pollution in the last five years. High winds were expected to last all day — but finally, rain was expected to bring relief later Wednesday night.

For now, flights have been grounded at Eilat. Israeli airports spokeswoman Liza Dvir told The Associated Press flights to and from the Red Sea resort city were temporarily were grounded because of the weather, though Ben Gurion Airport was still operating.

Both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem were enjoying a solid haze Wednesday afternoon.

 

Good morning, #Jerusalem. Not quite #Cairo, but getting dustier by the minute. #Sandstorm #Sahara

A video posted by Molly Hunter (@hunterabcnews) on Feb 11, 2015 at 1:52am PST

 

 

 

 

 

On Wednesday, Cairo bore the brunt of the storm, which cast a yellow tint over the entire city:

 

It’s sand, so sand, such a sand, sand situation in #Cairo, #Egypt

A photo posted by Borzou Daragahi (@borzoudaragahi) on Feb 11, 2015 at 3:37am PST

 

 

Cairo sandstorm, Day 2.

A photo posted by Jon Gambrell (@jongambrellap) on Feb 11, 2015 at 1:40am PST

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It sounded downright unpleasant, judging from the reports of these journalists on the ground:

 

 

 

 

Even Amman, Jordan, was getting in on the action.

ABC 021115 SANDSTORM MARQUARDT? SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1423658841336Alexander Marquardt/ABC NewsEarlier this week, dust suffocated southwest Iran, shutting down schools, government offices and sparking a few protests. Mehr News Agency snapped pictures of people wearing masks and choking on the dust, and Iranians flocked to social media to share their photos using the hashtag #KhouzestanCantBreathe and demand the government step up its response.

 

 

 

 


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