The Godzilla dust cloud spreading over the Mexican coast Medios y Media/Getty Images
A record-breaking Sahara dust storm that spread hazy skies and harmful levels of air pollution across parts of North America was caused by winds linked to melting Arctic sea ice, researchers say.
The event, dubbed the Godzilla dust cloud, peaked from 14 to 19 June 2020 and travelled more than 8000 kilometres across the Atlantic Ocean. The record dust plumes it created were so thick that algorithms initially classified them as clouds rather than dust. “It was exceptionally severe,” says Diana Francis at Khalifa University in…
