After days of hazy skies, only now patches of blue are beginning to shine through again. The milky summer skies that have covered Santo Domingo are caused by an increase in dust levels in the atmosphere due to the desertification in Africa (Sahara Dust). Massive sandstorms blow off the northwest African desert and blanket hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of the eastern Atlantic Ocean with a dense cloud of Saharan sand bringing cloudy skies and hot air. This has created a near constant haze over the Caribbean, with the dust clouds crossing over Florida and ranging as far west as Texas in the US. The effect of this high-in-iron, reddish brown dust on people and other living things is not known. Doctors say pollutants, including the Sahara dust, likely have an effect on asthmatics, people with emphysema and bronchitis.
