Sahara Plume

Skiers were seen taking to the slopes despite the freak weather incident after the increased concentration of dust from the African desert continued to stream in.
Meanwhile a skier in the Pyrenees captured the blanket of sand covering the snow as they scraped the layer of orange with their skis. An orange hue was also seen within the Chamonix Mont-Blanc Valley because the air was laden with sand dust from the Sahara.

The orange tint results from strong winds in Africa, causing the sand to sweep across to Europe before it settles onto the snow in the mountain ranges. The Saharan dust plume is known to be a supersized version of ones that cross the Atlantic all the time, ferrying particles that irritate lungs but also fertilize plant and ocean life. The dust cloud often encounters a system of westward-moving trade winds.

---

Fig.1 - The Sand hits the mountain ranges and settles onto the snow. Pictured: Val Ferret, Switzerland. Img credits- https://www.dailymail.co.uk/

The National Meteorological and Climate Service for France tweeted a satellite picture showing the sand from the Sahara, captioned: 'Seen from space: A low-pressure system on the Iberian Peninsula organizes a powerful southerly flow which brings up sand from the Sahara as far as France.

'Saharan lifts appear in yellowish on satellite image between the Balearic Islands and Sardinia.' A ski truck ploughing through a cloud of orange in Sestriere, Itlay's western Alps, was described as 'Martian Landscape'