Clouds of dust from the Saharan desert in North Africa crossed the Atlantic Ocean and in mid-July settled over parts of Florida, causing hazy skies and hot temperatures.
This is a regular occurrence, especially during the summer months, but some social media users are tying the dust clouds to philanthropist and Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates and an unrelated effort to combat climate change.
“Man says the sand storm headed our way is an attempt by Bill Gates to block out the sun,” read a caption next to a video shared July 11 on Facebook.
In the video, a man on a split screen introduced another video featuring a man who he said has “an interesting viewpoint” about what the dust storm is going to be used for. “Of course, it’s going to be used by none other than Bill Gates,” the first speaker said.
“We do know that this dust storm is not something that came from nature, OK? Nothing can happen in Africa and travel this far. I just don’t believe it,” the first man said.
In the second video, which came from a July 9 TikTok post, the speaker said Gates had proposed completely blocking out the sun to cool the Earth, and to do so he wanted to “chemtrail the sky.” He said the current sandstorms have been “aimed at the United States.”
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The Facebook video is wrong about both Gates and the recent Saharan dust clouds.
Gates, a frequent target of conspiracy theories, did not propose blocking out the sun, as we explained in this 2022 fact-check.
Gates has donated to Harvard University’s Solar Geoengineering Research Program. Researchers there proposed a small-scale experiment called SCoPEx — short for Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment. They hoped to spray aerosols into the stratosphere from a high-altitude balloon in Sweden in 2021 to reflect sunlight back into space. That test was called off amid opposition from environmentalists, scientists and Indigenous groups.
These kinds of solar geoengineering technologies aim to reduce global warming with human-made interventions. They are controversial among scientists and outdoor experimentation is rare.
The White House on June 30 released a congressionally mandated report that supported studying the “scientific and societal implications” of the technology, but noted in a fact sheet that “there are no plans underway to establish a comprehensive research program focused on solar radiation modification.”
Meanwhile, Saharan dust clouds headed to the United States are a phenomenon that happens naturally and regularly, especially this time of year.
They have happened for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years, said Jason Dunion, a University of Miami hurricane researcher working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.
The laboratory uses satellites to track what it calls the Saharan Air Layer. It describes that as “a mass of very dry, dusty air that forms over the Sahara Desert during the late spring, summer and early fall.”
During the peak season for Saharan Air Layer activity (late June through mid-August) outbreaks of dusty air emerge from the coast of Africa every three to five days and move over the tropical North Atlantic Ocean. They can travel thousands of miles across the Atlantic, to Florida and as far west as Texas.
A weather report from KHOU-11 in Houston said a Saharan dust cloud was expected to reach the area July 14. “This is nothing new,” said meteorologist Cheetah Craft. “We see this happen every single year.”
They don’t just reach the U.S. The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service said July 11 that a large “Saharan dust transport episode” was moving across Europe.
The warm, dry air and winds associated with the Saharan Air Layer can suppress hurricane formation and slow oceanic warming. Because the dust clouds can suppress thunderstorms, land below may see warmer temperatures, according to NOAA. The dust can also affect air quality, which can be a danger to people with asthma or other respiratory conditions.
Our ruling
A Facebook video claimed that Saharan dust clouds reaching the U.S. are part of an attempt by Gates to “block out the sun.”
Gates has donated to Harvard’s Solar Geoengineering Program, where researchers had planned an experiment to spray aerosols into the stratosphere in Sweden to reflect sunlight, a technology proponents hope can battle global warming. The experiment, which would not “block the sun,” was called off in 2021.
Saharan dust clouds are a naturally occurring phenomenon that have happened for thousands of years. They can regularly reach the U.S., as far west as Texas, and are common this time of year.
We rate the claim False.
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