October 4, (THEWILL) – The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has urged airline operators to take necessary precautions over deteriorating visibility in some northern states.
The agency, on Wednesday, in a statement signed by its General Manager of Public Affairs, Muntari Ibrahim, blamed the incident on dust haze.
NiMet said stations in the source region from Chad (Faya-Largeau, Bol-Berim, Mongo, Abeche and Ndjamena) have been reporting horizontal visibility between other sources from Niger that share borders with northern Nigeria.
“Diffa, Maine-Soroa, Goure, Bila, Maradi, Zinder and Birni-n-Konni have been reporting dust haze in poor visibility between 1000m and 3000m since the last 24 hours.
“Due to strong winds, the dust in suspension is expected to propagate to some States in the northern part of the country, which will further reduce horizontal visibility.
“There are prospects of dust haze (in moderate to poor horizontal visibility) over the northern parts of the country, especially over Katsina, Kano, Nguru, Jigawa Potiskum and Maiduguri in the next 24 hours,” the statement said.
NiMet advised members of the public to take necessary precautions due to dust particles presently in suspension over the atmosphere. It advised Individuals with respiratory ailments to protect themselves.
“Airline operators are also advised to avail themselves of weather reports from NiMet for effective planning in their operations. NiMet will continue to monitor the weather and provide updates when necessary,” it said.
