Sahara dust and air pollution smothers Britain

London: British authorities have warned people with heart or lung conditions to avoid exertion as a combination of industrial pollution and Sahara dust blankets the country in smog.

Asthmatics were warned to keep their inhalers handy as they could be prone to attacks. The environment department said Wednesday’s air pollution level could reach the top rung on its 10-point scale.

Most of the country was rated as five on Wednesday morning, meaning moderate, but forecasters said pollution levels could reach eight or nine later in the day. The department said the smog was caused by pollution from Britain and the continent staying in place because of light winds, along with dust blown up from the Sahara on a southerly breeze. Many motorists awoke this week to find cars covered in a film of red dust.

Paul Cosford of Public Health England told the BBC that people with heart or respiratory problems should “reduce the amount of strenuous exercise outdoors over the next few days.”

Although skies above London were turned hazy by the smog, authorities said there were no plans to restrict car use, as Parisian authorities did last month when the French capital was hit by air pollution.

Doctor Helen Dacre, a meteorologist at the University of Reading, said: “Saharan dust gets blown over to Britain several times a year.”
“The current episode has been whipped up by a large wind storm in North Africa. This has all combined to create high concentrations of pollutants in the air,” she added.

The pollution is expected to ease by Friday.