By RYO OYAMA/ Staff Writer
April 17, 2024 at 16:50 JST
A satellite image of the area around the Japanese islands as of 9 a.m. on April 17 shows yellow sand (the light brown color around the Sea of Japan) coming from the Eurasian continent. (From the Japan Meteorological Agency website)
Yellow sand has been confirmed in several parts over the skies of western Japan and is expected to spread over a wide area from Kyushu to northeastern Japan through April 18, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
The agency on April 17 urged people to be alert as the fine dust particles may cause visibility problems and affect traffic in some locations.
According to the JMA, by 9 a.m. on April 17, yellow sand had been observed at monitoring sites in seven cities: Osaka, Kobe, Hiroshima, Tottori, Takamatsu, Matsuyama, and Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture.
The visibility at all of these monitoring sites was 10 kilometers or more. However, the sand in the air caused the scenery to became blurry to the eye.
Yellow sand consists of large amount of dust blown across the ocean by strong winds from low-pressure systems in the deserts of Eurasia.
In Japan, yellow sand is most commonly seen in the spring.
This year, it was first observed in central Tokyo and Osaka on March 30.
Yellow sand can collect on laundry hung outdoors and cars and affect airplane takeoffs and landings.
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