The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has alerted airline operators and the public on the possibility of approaching thick dust haze that could lead to deterioration of horizontal visibility within the next 24 hours.
The agency in a statement on Wednesday explained that ”the Inter-Tropical Discontinuity currently at about 9.60N Lat is expected to retreat slightly Southwards in the next 24hrs.”
The alert indicated that winds over 10m and 925hPa (700m) are favourable for dust-haze propagations into the Northern part of the country.
”Stations in the source region (Sahara desert) from Chad (Faya-Largeau, Bol-Berim, Mongo, Abeche and Ndjamena) and sources from Niger, which shares a border with Northern Nigeria (Diffa, Maine-Soroa, Goure, Bila, Maradi, Zinder and Birni-n-Konni), have been reporting dust-haze in poor horizontal visibility between 300m and 5000m in the last 24hrs,” the statement added
NiMeT revealed that due to strong winds, the dust in suspension is likely to spread to some northern states of the country and this is expected to consequently deteriorate horizontal visibility over the Northern parts of the country, especially over Katsina, Kano, Nguru, Jigawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Potiskum and Maiduguri in the next 24 hours.
It, therefore, advised members of the public to take necessary measures due to dust particles presently in suspension over the atmosphere.
However, the agency cautioned people with asthma and other respiratory issues to avoid the present weather situation.
Airline operators were also advised to get updated weather reports from NiMet for effective planning in their operations.
