Car covered in sand.

Had a public health warning here in West Midlands as apparently this area is especially badly affected. Those with health problems warned not to exercise outside.

The sand gets picked up & carried in the upper atmosphere & then gets dumped on us. The current warm winds are coming south to north from the Sahara. I've experienced it a few times before (in southern England). Also saw a very large band of it when flying away from Lanzarote where it can block out the sun for a week apparently. The worst is the dry cough & sore eyes I've had since Sunday probably caused by the high pollution levels created by the combination of sand & pollen. What we need to clear it is .....rain!

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2594730/Health-warning-smog-soars-dangerous-high-country-People-heart-lung-problems-told-avoid-exercise.html

Here on the NE coast we have been experiencing this weather since last Saturday!

Mine too!

Yes, ours too (and they had just been washed). Definitely sand. It has happened before when the wind comes from the south.

I'm sure you are right Gillybob .

It was just a thought.

Well mine was definitely a brown/orange sand. Culag My car was totally covered.

I know this happens and I quite believe it, but at the weekend I was looking at a conifer next door and a puff of wind blew. There was a fog of pollen everywhere, on my car too. I wonder if some of the reports could be down to this. There are conifers everywhere.

Same down here in Devon. Small sand dunes parked everywhere.

It was the worst we've had it here in London but its happened several times in the last couple of years.. it washes off quite easy with the hose/bucket of water but don't wipe it with a cloth, because its sand it will scratch the paint.. not that I'm bothered but some people are 'precious' about paint work.

Mine was sandy, here in Essex/Suffolk borders. Have had this before and I find it fascinating to wipe a bit of dust on my finger and think that it came from the Sahara Desert!

My car covered in dust yesterday in the SE had to wash my windscreen really well before I could drive off and the paintwork was covered. Don,t remember it happening before.

We've had Saharan Sand land here for several years now. I don't mind as it means warmer weather and gives a layer of protection on the car against the pigeons sitting in the tree above where we have to park. The problem is it just proves how far pollution can travel and goodness knows what it's picked up along the way.

At first I thought this had something to do with the date
My car sits on my drive which is across the road from the sea. I've never experienced this. It's very curious that it's happened in so many different areas.

I have had a yellow dusty car here in Oxford since last week, cleaning it every other day at the moment.

Well, orange coloured!

Yep, I've seen this quite a few times, sometimes the dust is really orange.

Oh, no! I daren't look. DH only had the car washed yesterday - a rare occurrence!

My car was all sandy this morning here in Central Scotland. We have had this a few times before.

I just find it strange that the cars in London were affected and mine is all the way up here in the North East. I have never come across anything like this here.

This is a recognised phenomena in my local area.

It is because I live near a recently closed coal-fired power station and represent an environmental group on the Power Station Liaison Committee. When local people found dust on their cars in the past they immediately blamed the power station. Samples of the dust were always taken and analysed. On quite a number of occasions it was the result of sand blows from the Sahara. It made the local paper several times.

I haven't seen the news today Marelli . How strange. My car was absolutely covered and when I squirted the washers the water was a filthy brown. It was quite foggy here over the weekend (it is like pea-soup as I type) and not windy. The sand must have been in the fog. Weird.

From the Sahara I understand! I thought it was just yet another neighbour grinding patio paving slabs.

Mine had sand on it this lunchtime. It's happened two or three times over the years.

It was on the news tonight, too, gillybob.