ABUJA  – The Nigerian Meteorolog­ical Agency (NiMet) has alerted stakeholders and the general public on the possibility of deterioration in visibility as a result of observed dust haze propa­gated into the country from the source region.

A statement signed Muntari Yusuf Ibrahim, General Manager and Public Relations Officer of NiMet, indicates that the weather reports from the country, indicate the ap­proximate position of In­ter-Tropical Discontinuity (ITD).

“Winds at 10 meters and 800 meters (925hPa) above the ground surface indicate favourable conditions for further Dust-Haze propaga­tions into the nation, which will worsen horizontal visi­bility.”

The statement further stated that observation from the source region indicates that “Niger (Maine-Soroa, Goure, Maradi , N-guig­mi, Diffa, 61091, Bila and Agadez) and Chad (Faya- Largeau and Ndjamena) have both reported Dust- Haze with poor horizontal visibility.”.

“Hence NiMet expects that in the next few hours, strong winds at 800m will spread more dust into the country thus, causing de­terioration in horizontal visibility.

“NiMet further revealed that in the next 24 hours, there are prospects of thick dust haze (in poor horizontal visibility, less than1000m) over Katsina, Kano, Yobe, Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Borno, Adamawa, Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, and Kaduna states; while North­central states are expected to report moderate dust-haze (visibility of 2–5km). This weather condition is expected to persist for the next 72 hours.

“NiMet, therefore, advis­es members of the public to take necessary precau­tions due to dust particles currently in suspension over the atmosphere. Also, Individuals with respirato­ry ailments are advised to protect themselves as the current weather condition is not good for their health. Night-time cold tempera­tures should be expected; so warm clothes are advised for little children.

“Airline operators are also advised to avail them­selves of weather reports from NiMet for effective planning in their operations.

“NiMet assures that its Central Forecast Office (CFO) will continue to moni­tor the weather and provide updates, when necessary,” reads part of the statement.