Massive Saharan Dust Oubreak in Central Europe - Analysis of Potential Factors and Impacts

Massive Saharan Dust Oubreak in Central Europe - Analysis of Potential Factors and Impacts | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Massive Saharan Dust Oubreak in Central Europe - Analysis of Potential Factors and Impacts Vladimíra Volná, Marie Glofáková, Adéla Holubová Šmejkalová, Jáchym Brzezina, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6981624/v2 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Abstract The article is a case study evaluating the massive transport of dust from the Sahara desert in the period between March and April 2024 in the Czech Republic. This event led to the declaration of smog situations due to high PM 10 concentrations, with such large-scale near-ground coverage recorded for the first time. By using a combination of ground observations, remote sensing, and modeled data, this paper aimed to analyze the factors that led to this hazardous dust pollution event. This extraordinary episode was caused by a combination of several meteorological and topographic factors. There was a massive and relatively constant uplift of dust plumes from the northern Africa), combined with strong dry downslope winds behind mountain barriers in Central Europe, mainly the Alps. The steady, very good dispersion conditions with prevailing south-westerly wind direction of dry air masses at higher speeds, played a significant role. The combination of factors enabled high concentrations of Saharan dust to reach near-surface levels through temperature inversions or by aiding its dispersion. While the findings cannot be clearly quantified, they are a key source of information for the forecasting departments of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute. These departments are authorised by the Czech Republic's Ministry of the Environment to issue warnings. The results provide comprehensive information about the available resources and data that can be monitored. This enables timely (faster) responses to unusual episodes. The results provide the arguments for necessary changes in Czech legislation regarding the issuance of warning signals, so-called smog situations and regulations. Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences/Environmental impact Earth and environmental sciences/Natural hazards Earth and environmental sciences/Climate sciences/Atmospheric science/Atmospheric dynamics Foehn Long-Range Transport PM10 Saharan Dust Sounding Satellites Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6981624","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":485812226,"identity":"535a5eb5-d6ef-4fe4-97ac-21908b3e216c","order_by":0,"name":"Vladimíra Volná","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA7klEQVRIie3QsQrCMBCA4ZNAuxS6xkVf4UpBdPFZEgRdLA6OilaEOji4FnyJiiCOgUJddFdwqG+gi+BmtaIuCY4O+acc5ONIAHS6f8wEoAxoPqQApcdZKAn5JgzA/Y28h4xwn8ovP8OYnPandrVj+5aT8nW9NZtPuYD+QEEMt8pXtBYKy0W+bXjhcRcJSAwpKY6hQjOCIIwm5QHxIupFouBbCmJen6Sck2ELcyJ/kU2sfAsKkmQkZi+CKtJ9vAWdmMTIg40T7jPCEiYlhjlZHG6rAZY2o1F6CXplO/SW57Pixz6R70G+Q6fT6XS/dAd4vE91kPwo+QAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Czech Hydrometeorological Institute","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Vladimíra","middleName":"","lastName":"Volná","suffix":""},{"id":485812227,"identity":"d8f4fcca-a2ce-49d3-988d-5a5597e76f39","order_by":1,"name":"Marie Glofáková","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Czech Hydrometeorological Institute","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Marie","middleName":"","lastName":"Glofáková","suffix":""},{"id":485812228,"identity":"647f9cfe-746f-42ef-9107-0f4ebd741886","order_by":2,"name":"Adéla Holubová Šmejkalová","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Czech Hydrometeorological Institute","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Adéla","middleName":"Holubová","lastName":"Šmejkalová","suffix":""},{"id":485812229,"identity":"19823154-a9a4-4c4b-a287-d2c53420653c","order_by":3,"name":"Jáchym Brzezina","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Czech Hydrometeorological Institute","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jáchym","middleName":"","lastName":"Brzezina","suffix":""},{"id":485812230,"identity":"1d8afc47-93c9-4c91-8ede-e1069c739bfc","order_by":4,"name":"Adriana Šindelářová","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Czech Hydrometeorological Institute","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Adriana","middleName":"","lastName":"Šindelářová","suffix":""},{"id":485812231,"identity":"68c7d9eb-e385-441d-b22d-f6f8eddd82a8","order_by":5,"name":"Eva Houbová","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Czech Hydrometeorological Institute","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Eva","middleName":"","lastName":"Houbová","suffix":""},{"id":485812232,"identity":"94bafd5e-bb16-4549-bb2f-3eda93ffc45a","order_by":6,"name":"Hana Škáchová","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Czech Hydrometeorological Institute","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hana","middleName":"","lastName":"Škáchová","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-06-26 09:08:29","currentVersionCode":2,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6981624/v2","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6981624/v2","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":102964208,"identity":"e01bd204-c60f-47b1-9123-947021590f6d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-19 04:21:44","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":3424699,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6981624/v2_covered_44036cf9-b212-46df-9c0c-19f9421847b2.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"Massive Saharan Dust Oubreak in Central Europe - 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