Sandstorm Alert in Egypt: Wear masks outdoors and secure windows at home

Ahram Online , Saturday 27 May 2023

The Egyptian Meteorological Authority (EMA) has cautioned the public to wear masks outdoors and to secure windows in homes as a severe sandstorm hit various parts of the country on Saturday.

File Photo: Young students run to their homes during a sandstorm in 6 October city, a suburb southwest of Cairo. AP

In a statement, the EMA urges individuals with respiratory conditions or asthma to stay indoors to avoid inhaling dust particles carried by strong winds.

This is the first major Khamasin storm, sandstorms that hit North Africa from Morocco to Egypt in spring, this season.

The sandstorm alert was issued for the North Coast – stretching from Marsa Matrouh on the Libyan border to Alexandria; Upper Egypt – stretching from Assiut to Luxor; Sharm El-Sheikh in South Sinai; and the Greater Cairo area.

Sandstorms will lower visibility in various parts of the country; the EMA warned drivers.

Thunderstorms

The EMA forecast a chance of lightning and thunderstorms across various regions of the country amid warm temperatures.

This includes the northern Nile Delta; coastal areas along the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal and the Red Sea; South Sinai; Greater Cairo; and Fayoum to Assiut in Upper Egypt.

Therefore, it cautioned against using mobile phones under billboards or tall trees during rainfall to avoid being struck by lightning.