Worldwide, the weather is changing. ‘Climate change’. How easy it is to say: ‘climate change’ is to blame for everything. Is summer too hot? Must be climate change. Too wet? Climate change. Too windy? Climate change.

And with the winds comes the sand, here in Portugal. It is harmful to everyone’s health, and we recommend that vulnerable groups with respiratory conditions stay indoors. And while the entire country can be affected, the Algarve and Alentejo are frequently the hardest hit. Hazy views are created, and the dust gives the sky a weird orange hue and significantly reduces visibility.

Mud Rain

If it rains while the dust is present, the particles mix with water to form ‘mud rain’, leaving a thick layer of reddish residue on nice shiny cars, windows, and solar panels. You can hear your windscreen washers scratching as you try to get the mud from your screens – it can’t be good for the glass or the rubber blades.

Sahara Dust

All the Saharan dust we have to put up with is due to a combination of low-pressure weather systems over the Atlantic that act like a conveyor belt, bringing strong winds from North Africa. This phenomenon often occurs in the spring, bringing hot, dust-laden air from the desert directly over the Iberian Peninsula. It seems to be worse this year. I muse that one day, so much sand will blow from the Sahara that it might end up covering Portugal, which will be buried like a great big beach with no buildings.

International Efforts

Stopping this Saharan wind entirely is not currently feasible as it is a natural, large-scale climate phenomenon, but I hadn’t realised that major international efforts were being suggested to combat the expansion of the Sahara, which could reduce the intensity and impact of the dust carried by these winds.

Apparently, an 8,000 km-long, 15 km-wide ‘wall’ of vegetation could be created across Africa, from Senegal to Djibouti, to restore degraded land, act as a barrier against wind erosion, and increase local humidity to aid local farming. It’s unlikely to be a straight line of trees, but rather a pattern of sustainable land management practices.

Credits: Pexels; Author: Jan van der Wolf;

In fact, several solutions that have been suggested - solar and wind farms covering vast areas to increase surface friction, reduce wind speed, and, through complex interactions, increase rainfall. Another mega suggestion is sand dune stabilisation, using fences, nets, etc., to prevent dunes from moving and releasing dust, and planting local trees and shrubs with deep root systems that can survive high-salt environments.


This is no overnight solution

But Sahara dust is surprisingly essential to the global ecosystem, feeding nutrients into the Amazon rainforest and fertilising the oceans. Stabilising the Sahara would involve planting nearly 1 trillion trees, irrigating them with desalinated water to lock up carbon dioxide, reducing global temperatures, and increasing food security, though it risks disrupting global climate systems, such as the Amazon rainforest.

The Sahara is massive. It’s the world's largest hot desert, measuring a mind-boggling, shifting 8.6 to 9.4 million square kilometres. It’s roughly the size of the United States, spanning nearly all of North Africa, and while billions have been pledged (over $19 billion to the ‘Great Green Wall Accelerator’), apparently only a small fraction reaches the local farmers who actually implement the work.

The regions most affected often lack the funding and security required to make massive, long-term environmental changes, and are hampered by significant, long-standing border and territorial disputes in the region.