A massive plume of Saharan dust is covering the Caribbean and is making its way toward the southern U.S. While it is bad for air quality, it prevents major storms and hurricanes from developing. CBS News' Karen Hua has more details.

Arkansas

A significant plume of Saharan dust is currently covering the Caribbean and is projected to reach the southern United States, including states such as Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, and the Carolinas. Experts warn that the dust will worsen air quality, particularly in areas already struggling with pollution, such as Houston, which has been rated poorly for air quality by the American Lung Association.

Health professionals note that poor air quality can increase risks of heart and lung diseases, as well as other health issues. However, the Saharan dust also brings some benefits, as it helps prevent the formation of major storms and hurricanes during the hurricane season. Additionally, the dust can enhance the appearance of sunrises and sunsets.

Massive dust cloud from Sahara Desert travels toward U.S.

Well a massive plume of Saharan dust is covering the Caribbean right now and making its way toward the south of the U.S. Now while this is of course bad for air quality it does actually prevent major storms and hurricanes from developing. Let's bring in CBS News national reporter Karen Wall live for us from Houston which is expecting to see a major outbreak of this dust this week. Karen how is this going to affect Texas and for the rest and the rest of the country for that matter? Well Elizabeth as you're seeing the Houston skyline behind me it doesn't look that bad right now but experts are expecting the worst to come later on this week. They're talking about the three H's heat humidity and haze. So we know Saharan dust from Africa typically moves across the Atlantic every summer so while it's over the Caribbean right now it is expected to reach Florida midweek then move north by Friday hitting Texas here Louisiana Georgia and the Carolinas. Now here in Houston the latest report from the American Lung Association gives the area an F in air quality which is some of the worst in the country. The bad air quality is mostly caused by the city's size and big petrochemical industry. We spoke to Dr. Sadeer Alkindi a cardiologist at Houston Methodist Hospital about the health effects of air quality like this. Air pollution can worsen the risk of having heart disease and lung disease in general and cancers. For each degree increase in temperature we see significant increase in heart attacks we do see significant increase in strokes. So as dust hits the south other states are also being impacted by wildfire smoke from Canada. As of today there are more than a hundred fires burning according to Canadian forest fire officials which would affect parts of Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin. But let's also talk about the silver linings here. These Saharan dust particles add this layer to the atmosphere which actually helps prevent tropical storms or hurricanes which is especially important right now since we're in hurricane season through the end of November. These dust particles also help create some pretty beautiful sunrises and sunsets. So some pros and cons here. Gotta take the positive. All right Karen thank you so much.

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