Robert Bryant

What is 'blood rain' and will we see it this week? There has been growing interest this week in the possibility of so‑called “blood rain” affecting parts of the UK.

What is 'blood rain' and will we see it this week?

What the Met Office says...⬇️
www.metoffice.gov.uk/blog/2026/wh...

#CopernicusAtmosphere dust aerosol optical depth forecast shows a massive #SaharanDust plume crossing NW Africa, W Mediterranean + parts of Europe over the first few days of March. View the latest charts at atmosphere.copernicus.eu/charts/packa... @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social @ecmwf.int

The intense #SaharanDust plume over the North Atlantic is predicted to reach western Europe in the coming days in the #CopernicusAtmosphere forecast. These episodes are not uncommon at this time of the year, particularly impacting air quality and visibility in Canary Islands and Madeira.

🛰️🌍🌊💨

#highlatitudedust activity today in Patagonia.

It is cloudy from the satellite (thus dust will not be reported by it) but under those clouds , webcams in Comodoro Rivadavia show a lot of dust under .

@sheffielddust.bsky.social @tomgillpredicts.bsky.social @mparrington.bsky.social

attn
@tomgillpredicts.bsky.social @sheffielddust.bsky.social @mparrington.bsky.social @barrylefer.bsky.social @barrybaker.bsky.social @aerosolwatch.bsky.social @fariastejerina.bsky.social @guilleabramson.bsky.social

🛰️🌍🌬️
Starting the year with #highlatitudedust activity in northern Patagonia.

Unusual in this case is the fact that wind direction is from the E and SE, quite unusual for dust activity.

@tomgillpredicts.bsky.social @sheffielddust.bsky.social

Mapping low-intensity selective logging across the Peruvian Amazon Mapping low-intensity selective logging across the Peruvian Amazon, Bousfield, Christopher, Edwards, David P, Hethcoat, Matthew G, Campos Zumaeta, Luis Enrique, Allccahuaman Mañuico, Edwin, Minhuey Es...

Mapping low-intensity selective logging across the Peruvian Amazon
doi.org/10.1088/1748...
via @ioppublishing.bsky.social

Another very dusty day in Patagonia today , with activity spanning hundreds of km.

#highlatitudedust

@sheffielddust.bsky.social

An astonishing storm turned day into night in General Villegas, #Argentina. 🌑

On Saturday (11/15/2025), a massive #storm front plunged the afternoon into darkness within seconds, as dense clouds swept over the city, shocking residents with its intensity.🤯⛈️

🛰️🌍💨

Very windy this morning over all Patagonia, with #highlatitudedust activity spanning +900km. Let's see how this evolves through the day.

@aerosolwatch.bsky.social @mparrington.bsky.social @sheffielddust.bsky.social

@sheffielddust.bsky.social

#highlatitudedust event in Central Patagonia a few days ago as seen by MODIS Terra and Sentinel 2.

PhD in Computer Science: Sustainable AI for Plant Species Recognition in Tropical Forests at University of Sheffield on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - PhD in Computer Science: Sustainable AI for Plant Species Recognition in Tropical Forests at University of Sheffield, listed on FindAPhD.com

www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

‘Wall of blowing dust’ sweeps through Burning Man festival upending camps Wing gusts with speeds in excess of 45mph tore through Black Rock City, temporarily halting all activity

www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...

Once again 🌬, #dust flows inland from the Mediterranean near Derna — flipping the usual S→N pattern. These repeats hint that shifting pressure & heat 🔥 contrasts aren’t just quirks. 🌍 When rare flows return this soon, the #climate signal gets louder.

🛰Meteosat @eumetsat.int
✂️Visualized @zoom.earth

A striking blend of smoke and #SaharanDust streaming over the Med, #wildfires in Spain & Portugal feeding thick plumes, merging with airborne #dust from North Africa. The result? A murky, hazy layer stretching across southern #Europe. A vivid reminder of how multiple crises can collide in our skies.

A compact dust vortex formed over Algeria’s Adrar region — likely driven by intense surface heating and weak low-level cyclonic flow. These mesoscale dust spirals aren’t common, but in summer Saharan setups like this, they reveal just how dynamic "still" deserts can be.
🛰 @eumetsat.int
✂️ @zoom.earth

A #DustStorm from Sudan sweeps across the Red Sea🌬🌊, reaching near Saudi shores. Driven by strong desert winds, this plume impacts marine and coastal #AirQuality, alters solar radiation, and plays a role in regional climate dynamics.

🛰Meteosat @eumetsat.int
✂️Visualized @zoom.earth

Tree award

Enjoyable day working in Peru with #OSINFOR

NOAA’s Satellites Track Saharan Dust Blowing Across the Atlantic A giant plume of dust from the Sahara Desert made its way from Africa to the United States to kick off the start of meteorological summer in the Northern Hemisphere.

www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news/noaas-s...

Researchers create system to log air quality impacts of moorland fires Peak District pilot scheme combines satellite data with sensors on the ground to measure particle pollution

We often hear about #airpollution from wildfires in North America and southern Europe but fires in the UK are less studied.

My latest piece for @theguardian.com on the impacts of moorland fires.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Lots of fun with students along the Holderness coast a week or so back. It’s well-studied for a reason.

Orienteering in the Lakes last weekend. Glorious + ticks

Met-12 (MTG) FCI True Colour RGB, 18 May 05:40UTC

Met-12 (MTG) FCI True Colour RGB, 20 May 03:00UTC

A huge smoke plume from the fires in Manitoba, Canada, a week ago, which advected over Europe in the past few days (see 18 May image), is already over Asia today – well captured by the Met-12 (MTG) True Colour RGB (see 20 May image), via @inorbitivan.bsky.social

👨‍🔬 @tomgillpredicts.bsky.social @mparrington.bsky.social @jimmcquaid.bsky.social @wisc-satellite.bsky.social @sheffielddust.bsky.social @dustycryder.bsky.social @sangasso.bsky.social

On MAY 07, 2025,🛰satellite @eumetsat.int Meteosat-IODC detected a massive plume of #dust💨 moving off the coast of Africa, born from a storm far inland.

This astonishing animation shows a Saharan dust storm moving over the west coast of #Africa over to the Atlantic Ocean💨🌊
📊Processed in @zoom.earth

Cool to watch the launch of #biomass this morning @esa.int @science.esa.int #sheffield

This is what illegal ‘selective’ logging in Peru’s rainforest looks like. Locating and identifying illegal logging is resource-heavy and dangerous but @granthamcsf.bsky.social researchers have developed tech to track it in near real time by spotting subtle changes in the rainforest canopy... 1/2

New technology helping fight against illegal logging of Peru’s valuable rainforest New technology is helping Peru fight against the illegal logging of its 68 million hectares of valuable tropical rainforest.

News story summarising some of our recent work in #Peru
www.sheffield.ac.uk/news/new-tec...

That danged haboob is spawning additional haboobs! Haboobs on top of haboobs! Attn @sheffielddust.bsky.social @wisc-satellite.bsky.social @aerosolwatch.bsky.social et al.

ECOSOLUTIONS - Earth, Fire, Wind and Water: Understanding and reducing pollution caused by domestic solid fuel burning in urban environments. at University of Sheffield on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - ECOSOLUTIONS - Earth, Fire, Wind and Water: Understanding and reducing pollution caused by domestic solid fuel burning in urban environments. at University of Sheffield, listed on FindAP...

Interested in using behavioural science to tackle pollution? I'm advertising a fully-funded interdisciplinary PhD project at the Uni of Sheffield with @sheffielddust.bsky.social & Darpan Das (Uni of York), to start Sep 2025. Application deadline 4th April! www.findaphd.com/phds/project... #PsySciSky