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Does the seemingly spectral dust cloud that comes up from the African desert scare you?  The Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) warned yesterday that this dusty mass from North Africa might be returning with devastating effects.

Although the APA predicted that it would mainly hit Spain, with minimal effects on Portugal, people are still urged to stay indoors. One of the scary outcomes of this weather event is mud rain which some Portuguese are likely to experience over the weekend.

So why does it keep returning?

According to the NASA Earth Observatory, the dust particles are picked up by strong winds associated with low pressure systems. The cloud pattern is indicative of the lower pressure, which channels the dust westward and then northward, towards Portugal and neighboring countries.

The hot winds that carry them to envelop these countries is known as the 鈥淐alima鈥�, whose effect is to contaminate the air, aesthetically and quality-wise.

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So what should prospective visitors do?

The degraded air quality over Portugal naturally means poor health for residents. Earlier, in March, the Republic鈥檚 Directorate-General for Health (DGS) warned that the dust particles 鈥渉ave effects on human health, especially on the most sensitive population, children and the elderly, whose health care must be monitored鈥�.

Most vulnerable groups, including the elderly, children and people with respiratory health problems, are urged in such cases to stay indoors. For prospective visitors, it would be wise to always check out the APA weather forecasts before visiting.