Ecobreves – CUBA: Saharan Dust Inhibits Hurricanes

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HAVANA, Jun 9 2008 (IPS) - Dust from the Sahara Desert that reaches the tropics of the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea could attenuate the formation and intensity of hurricanes, especially in July and August. Chief of the national forecasting center at the Meteorology Institute of Cuba, José Rubiera, explained to Tierramérica that small particles of dust rise up to seven kilometers in the atmosphere, forming a very warm and dry air mass that “inhibits the formation of vertical clouds, which generate rains, and thus make the emergence of tropical cyclones difficult.”

The effect is accentuated because the dust also blocks sunlight, cooling the ocean's surface waters.

In the 2005 hurricane season, “the most active we've known, more than 10 consecutive days were recorded without tropical cyclones in August, which was related to the presence of Saharan dust,” said Rubiera.