NiMet Alerts Six Northern States on Thick Dust Haze

Kasim Sumaina in Abuja

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has alerted six states in the North (Katsina, Zamfara, Kano, Kaduna, Yobe and Jigawa) to expect dust haze which can adversely affect horizontal visibility.

According to a statement from the agency, weather reports monitored indicates that: “Stations in Niger Republic (Maradi, Goure, Maine-Soroa, Agadez, Zinder and 61091), as well as Chad (Faya-Largeau), have reported dust haze with poor horizontal visibility.

“Strong wind at 800m is expected to transport the dust to Nigeria, particularly the North and North-central regions in the next few hours.”

The statement further disclosed that satellite images obtained also indicated that in the next 24 hours, there are high prospects of thick dust haze (poor horizontal visibility 1000m) over Katsina, Zamfara, Kano, Kaduna, Yobe and Jigawa States, while other northern states are expected to report moderate dust haze (visibility of 2–5km).

NiMet stated that the weather condition is expected to persist for the next three days and that day-time temperature (Max) is expected to fall as a result of this plume of dust coming into the country.

In view of this, members of the public are advised to take necessary precautions due to dust particles presently in suspension over the atmosphere.

Also, Individuals with respiratory ailments are advised to protect themselves as the current weather condition is not good for their health.

The statement also disclosed that night-time cold temperatures should be expected, hence warm clothes are advised for little children.

Airline operators are also advised to avail themselves of weather reports from NiMet for effective planning in their operations.

NiMet further assured continuous monitoring of the weather, and would keep Nigerians informed of any further changes.