Saharan dust lands in England as 'very high' levels of air pollution warned this week

Heather Saul in the Independent (UK): Very high” levels of air pollution over the next few days are prompting health concerns for vulnerable and elderly people, as the dust from the Saharan desert and winds combined to create a potentially "toxic" storm.

Asthmatics have been advised they might need to use their blue reliever inhalers more often as they could be prone to attacks today and over the next few days. Other people with lung and heart problems, and those who are older, should also avoid strenuous exercise or activity.

The advise from Public Health England (PHE), Asthma UK and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) comes as the government warned large swathes of England and Wales will see high levels of pollution on Wednesday.

The east of England and Midlands were the worst-affected areas on Tuesday, Defra said. The elevated pollution levels are the result of a combination of light south-easterly winds, the continental air flow and dust which has blown up from the Sahara desert, a spokeswoman said.

Defra uses a 10-point scale to measure air quality, with a 10 warning suggesting "very high" levels of pollution and a one warning meaning there is a "low risk". Experts are anticipating “high” or “very high” air pollution levels on Wednesday....

A smoggy day in London, 2006, shot by Iain Buchanan, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license