Barbados is the first Caribbean country sounding an alarm today (May 16) ahead of the thickest ‘cloud’ of Saharan dust now barrelling towards the region.

The Barbados Meteorological Service, issuing a dust haze advisory on Monday, forecast visibility challenges for citizens up to 10 kilometres or less within the next 36 hours.

“Persons with respiratory issues or allergies must travel with all prescribed relevant medications in case of an emergency. Marine users should stay close to shore,” the Bajan weather watchdog said.

A similar bulletin was published by the St Lucia Meteorological Service, which also warned of deteriorating air quality and visibility over the Lesser Antilles for the next couple of days.

Satellite imagery tracking the Saharan Air Layer (SAL), indicated that the region was just recovering from the most recent wave of dust.

The western Caribbean remains under the influence of a trough heading into a new week, while the first tropical wave of the 2022 North Atlantic Hurricane Season made its transoceanic journey was located just south of Puerto Rico.

The region can breathe for the time being, as the US-based National Hurricane Center (NHC), in its tropical weather outlook, advised no cyclone formations are expected to threaten the Caribbean within the next two to five days.