The recent eruptions of Mount Etna in Italy created a cloud of sulfur dioxide (SO2) that has been gradually moving through the Middle East and getting closer to Lebanon. So, will it affect Lebanon’s atmosphere?
In a statement, Michel Afram, Director-General of the Board of Directors of the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI), has outlined the trajectory of the SO2 cloud that originated in the island of Sicily.
According to Afram, the cloud has traveled southward and reached Libya and Egypt, where the west wind blew it north of Saudi Arabia before being redirected to Iraq.
As for Lebanon and Syria, they will be under the influence of warm east winds Monday through Thursday, “which will lead to high temperatures and the expulsion of the SO2 cloud from them.”
By the time Lebanon comes under the influence of southwest winds, low temperatures, and rain, on Friday, April 9th, the SO2 cloud will have been gone, according to Afram.
In conclusion, Afram affirmed that the SO2 cloud will be no threat to Lebanon and the Lebanese people.
Mount Etna, an active composite volcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, erupted nearly a dozen times in a matter of weeks over the past couple of months. The SO2 clouds resulting from these eruptions have been detected as far away as China.