Air Quality very unhealthy to Hazardous in Senegal – Nigeria is next -pictures from the frontlines

The set of dust events has been crushing Cabo Verde and Senegal over the last 24 hours. The predicted large dust outbreak over Nigeria has begun and will worsen. Without the low-cost PM dust network that has been built over the last 2 years, we would be unaware of what was happening on the ground, just pictures, and satellite views. It is so critical during this period of COVID-19 for everyone to be aware of air quality. I am super thankful for Demba in Senegal, my colleagues at INMG and Uni-CV, and in Nigeria for helping to deploy and maintain the network. Of course, we still don’t have enough coverage but last year most of these stations did not exist.

February 17, Realtime PM2.5 concentrations across West Africa

The forecast continues to show heavy dust over the next in Senegal and the largest Bodele dust event will begin impacting Nigeria over the next few hours. Below are some pictures from this morning.

February 17: Dust from Kaolack, Senegal this morning (Courtesy of Dr. Moussa Gueye) – current PM2.5 concentration: 127 mg/m-3

PM2.5 Values this morning at Madina Ndiatebe February 17
February 17, Dakar Senegal (Courtesy Riad Kawar). Current PM 2.5 183 mg/m-3 (8: 52 EST)
February 17th, Madina Ndiatebe – Northeastern Senegal (courtesy Mamadou Drame) Current PM2.5 360 mg/m-3 (8:00 EST)
February 17, Praia Cabo Verde (courtesy Nicolau Araujo) Current PM2.5: 82 mg/m3 (8:50 EST)

Stay safe and cover up outside for dust and COVID-19. More dust to come in the days ahead.