The wind is bringing dust from the Caspian Lowland to Ukraine, as reported by the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center.
"As of this morning (September 30), a dust storm and high air pollution levels are observed in the Caspian Lowland. Since the wind is currently carrying air from that region, specifically from the southeast, the dust lifted in the Caspian, in the form of its finest particles, is being transported to Ukraine in the upper layers of the atmosphere," the message stated on Facebook on Monday.
This fine dust is settling in Ukraine's Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions. A small amount is also reaching the Cherkasy and Kirovohrad regions.
"The situation is exacerbated by local surface dryness, which adds local dust particles and soil fragments lifted by the wind to the overall pollution," the report noted.
According to the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center, this situation is expected to last until Friday, when the wind direction in Ukraine will change to the south and west. Dust will arrive in waves, meaning periods of improvement will alternate with worsened visibility and air quality.
"Dust is expected to reach the Kyiv region on October 1 and 2, but its concentration will be lower by then. However, for the Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy regions, air quality may deteriorate further due to the movement of carbon monoxide along with smoke that will spread from outside Ukraine from the northeast on October 1," the report concluded.
