An almost veritable dust storm over the Maltese Islands. The main cause initiating this dust storm was the jet stream (a ribbon of air at an altitude of around 10km) being unusually strong (violet colours) and displaced far southwards than normal for May. This allowed the typical low pressure systems that normally form over Northern Africa (due to the strong sun`s rays) to intensify even further hence causing stronger winds and therefore with more potential to lift more desert dust over a greater area than usual. Clouds were not observed this time due to the relative dryness of the air masses involved. NASA satellite also indicated this. The first thumbnail shows another photo of the dust storm taken with a sky view. One can clearly see the dust`s brown coloration in the background. At one point the visibility was reduced to a mere 1.5km.