Saharan dust cloud to make weekend hazy and oppressively muggy in North Macedonia

A dense cloud of Saharan dust will move over North Macedonia on Friday and remain present through the coming weekend (August 28–30), further hazing the air and intensifying the already oppressive conditions caused by the ongoing African heat wave, meteorologist Slavcho Poposki warned.

The heat surge from Africa continues to be strongest over the country, and the incoming dust layer will make the atmosphere appear noticeably murkier and less clean, reducing air quality in many areas.

Health implications and short-term outlook

Poposki stressed that the combination of high temperatures and suspended dust will be felt more strongly than the instruments record. "Temperatures will also be felt as higher than the measured values. All this will have a very negative effect, especially on meteoropaths, among whom larger health problems are possible. That means that biometeorological conditions here will be extremely unfavorable," he said.

Public-health effects are most likely for people sensitive to weather changes: those with cardiovascular and respiratory conditions, the elderly, and others prone to meteoropathy. The synoptic setup will keep conditions hot and humid, with low daytime comfort.

Authorities and health services typically advise vulnerable groups to limit strenuous outdoor activity during such episodes, keep windows closed when dust concentrations are high, and follow guidance from their doctors if they experience breathing or cardiac symptoms.

Photo: press material from the event