The Nigerian Meteorological Agency has raised fresh concerns over an impending dust haze that is expected to deteriorate visibility across the country in the coming days.
The agency also emphasised the need for airline operators to be on high alert, and avail themselves of weather reports from NiMet for effective planning in their operations.
OThe agency, Wednesday night, raised this alarm in a statement by the General Manager, Muntari Yusuf Ibrahim, in Abuja.
The statement reads: “Winds over 10m and 925hPha are favourable for Dust-Haze propagations into the Northern parts of the country.
“Stations in the source region, Niger (Goure, Zinder, Maine-Soroa, Diffa, N-Guigmi and 61091) reported horizontal visibility between 800m and 6000m. The sources from Chad are expected to report poor horizontal visibility in the next 24 hours, based on available models”, the alert reads.
Explaining further the statement revealed that due to strong winds, the dust in suspension is expected to propagate to some states in the northern part of the country, which will further reduce horizontal visibility, especially over Katsina, Kano, Nguru, Jigawa, Potiskum and Maiduguri in the next 24 hours.
NiMet, therefore, advises members of the public to take necessary precautions due to dust particles presently in suspension over the atmosphere.
“Individuals with respiratory ailments are advised to protect themselves as the current weather condition is not good for their health.
“Airline operators are also advised to avail themselves of weather reports from NiMet for effective planning in their operations.
“NiMet will continue to monitor the weather and provide updates when necessary”, NiMet added.
