You know that boy in Charlie Brown, the one who always has dust and dirt swirling around him? Imagine living like that for almost four months. Right now, we are in the midst of Harmattan, an extremely dry and dusty wind blowing south off the Sahara into the Atlantic's Gulf of Guinea, which lasts between November and March. It is so horrible is is considered a Natural Hazard.
On its passage over the desert the Harmattan picks up fine dust particles and when it blows hard, it can push dust and sand all the way to South America. That's right, all the way across the ocean to South America. For the last couple of months the heavy amount of dust in the air has severely limited visibility creating a sight comparable to heavy fog. At the end of the day I am coated with dust, it is on my clothes, in my hair and even my eyebrows. Our house has been invaded; we have no air conditioning and thanks to open windows throughout the house, the dust blows in with the wind, and within a few hours of sweeping or dusting, the floors and furniture are covered yet again.
I must admit there is at least one benefit, because the dust is so dense, the sun is slightly shielded and with that is an occasional cool wind. It is interesting that these winds have been blowing for thousands of years and millions of people have been affected by them and learned to live with them, and I, in my romantic thoughts of Africa had no idea. They say we have at least two more months of this, perhaps it will get better, the dirt and dust will gradually become thinner in the air and less oppressive. And before I know it, I will once again see the green hills that surround my town of Ho.
*information collected from Wikipedia
