The Saharan Dust Cloud

As if, we have had enough environmental issues with the global warming, and the COVID-19 mess, a Sahara dust storm is causing us more health drama since it will give people inflammation response such as sinus symptoms, making a person feel sick and lethargic, and congestion from a runny nose. Sahara dust could contribute to cardiovascular problems. The dust does contribute to beautiful sunsets and sunrises. When the dust storm hit early in late June/July, it caused major allergies in easily allergic people.

The dust storm spread its joy across the Gulf Coast of the United States, the Caribbean, and South America. This dust storm caused or is still causing people allergies. The plume of dust wreaks havoc with people's allergies in that part of the United States and the world. This dust comes from the Bodélé Depression in Chad, which is an ancient, dried up lake bed. This storm was a very large one, while it was approaching, but where it is now is unknown unless it dissipated. The Sahel got rain in May and June, so maybe that caused the allergen-laden dust cloud to move around the United States.

The scientifically minded have not figured out that the storm comes in patterns yet, since maybe there are no patterns, which can be seen. The Saharan dust is helpful to ecosystems in the Western Hemisphere, assuming the phytoplankton blooms are triggered. The phytoplankton soaks up carbon dioxide, also providing food for crustaceans and whales. The dust from the Saharan desert also is necessary for the Amazon rainforest basin, yearly. The Saharan air layer moves around 50 miles an hour, the dust then can prevent clouds from forming in warm air, reaching as high as 10,000 feet of elevation.

Inhaling dust could cause black snot in your nose, but only because you are inhaling the dust. Now that people aren't wearing masks for the pandemic, they are wearing it for the Saharan dust. In the United States, as a contrast to other countries like Senegal, it is hard to get anybody to wear a mask for COVID-19, let alone wear one for the dust cloud that hit earlier this month. I see a picture of people wearing a mask, for the dust with the picture showing them surrounded by dust.

Funny that the N95 mask will protect people from the dust cloud and already has, but some people resist wearing any kind of mask at all for the pandemic. The dust cloud has some real effects on people's lungs. It means business. Don't fool around with dust, don't fool around with germs. But people are all too content to fool around. You need to wear a mask in this pandemic and that is a fact of life. Not wearing one is asking for trouble. Why do you people who don't want to wear masks court trouble?

You people are asking for it, in more ways than one. It means that dust is okay to wear a mask with but not a pandemic? Hey, I once had an event in diabetes camp where the dust on the baseball diamond would make nose boogers black; we all noticed this and wondered at why. Dust causes all sorts of environmental troubles. So quit being silly, and wear a mask! Wearing a mask stops all sorts of drama. The more masks people wear, the sooner the virus is contained.

Yes, sure, March, April and May were some scary months. In January I had thought to myself, what if we had everything closed as it does in January, on New Year's Day. I shoved it aside and went on with my day. The dust storm is a minor inconvenience compared to the pandemic. Do you want to be ill, as ill as people say the virus makes one? Or would you rather avoid people as per guidelines so that you do not get infected? The virus is unfortunately, real, and can get you very ill. The Saharan dust cloud pales in comparison. So if you want to stay well, avoid people.

Works Cited

https://www.vox.com/2020/7/1/21307053/sahara-dust-storm-2020-godzilla-cloud-saharan-sunset