How dust from Africa's Sahara Desert is wreaking havoc in Europe

As Europe accelerates its shift to solar energy to meet ambitious climate and energy security goals, a formidable new challenge is emerging from the skies: Saharan dust.According to research presented at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2025 (EGU25), mineral dust carried by winds from North Africa is not only reducing photovoltaic (PV) electricity generation across the continent but also making solar power output harder to predict.advertisementDr. Gyorgy Varga and a team of researchers from Hungarian and European institutions analyzed more than 46 Saharan dust events between 2019 and 2023, covering both Central Europe (Hungary) and Southern Europe (Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, and Greece).
Saharan dust also poses long-term risks to solar infrastructure. (Photo: Nasa)
Their findings reveal that the Sahara releases billions of tonnes of fine dust into the atmosphere annually, with tens of millions of tonnes reaching Europe.Once aloft, these particles scatter and absorb sunlight, diminish surface irradiance, and even encourage cloud formation-all of which degrade the performance of solar panels.The study highlights a critical gap in current solar energy forecasting. Conventional models rely on static aerosol data, which often fails to capture the real-time impact of dust storms.advertisementAs a result, solar power generation can fall short of expectations, increasing the risk of underperformance and grid instability as renewables take on a larger share of the energy mix.
Sahara releases billions of tonnes of fine dust into the atmosphere annually. (Photo: Getty)
The researchers recommend integrating near-real-time dust load measurements and aerosol-cloud interactions into forecasting models to improve reliability and preparedness for dust-related variability.'There's a growing need for dynamic forecasting methods that account for both meteorological and mineralogical factors,' says Dr. Varga. 'Without them, the risk of underperformance and grid instability will only grow as solar becomes a larger part of our energy mix'.Beyond the atmospheric effects, Saharan dust also poses long-term risks to solar infrastructure. Dust contamination and erosion can further reduce panel efficiency and drive up maintenance costs, threatening the economic viability of large-scale solar projects.Trending Reel

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