Saharan Dust Storm Covers Spain, Spreads Out Across Europe

A worker cleans the dust from the Sahara desert at Sol square in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, March 15, 2022. Spain issued extremely poor air quality ratings for a large swathe of Spain Tuesday, after a mass of hot air from the Sahara dumped loads of dust after crossing the Mediterranean. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
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Barcelona, Spain (AP) -- A huge dust storm swirling over Europe from the Sahara desert made it hard to breathe in large parts of Spain for a second straight day on Wednesday and gave cleaning crews extra work as far away as Paris, London and Belgrade to remove the film of dirt falling on cars and buildings.

Europeans woke up to eerie skies, from the grimy gray in Madrid to orange-hues in the Swiss Alps, caused by the tiny particles that had traveled thousands of kilometers across the Mediterranean Sea.