As forecast, the first major surge of Saharan Dust for 2026 arrived across Guyana on Sunday morning, and is beginning to spread across Trinidad and Tobago after midday.
Since 10:00 AM Sunday, visibility at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport in Guyana has dropped to 4-5 kilometers, with sustained winds of 35-40 km/h. Air quality monitors along Guyana’s northern coastlines have already hit Very Unhealthy air quality levels, level 4 of 6 on the Air Quality Index.
Wind speeds are set to increase, with air quality and visibility rapidly decreasing as the day progresses across T&T.
What you need to know
— Saharan Dust Surges: A major Saharan Dust surge is forecast to affect T&T and the Windward Islands from midday Sunday. While peak concentrations are forecast from late Sunday evening through Monday, this surge is expected to persist, with elevated dust levels remaining across T&T and the Windwards through Sunday, March 2nd, 2026. Generally, higher dust levels are forecast to remain south and east of Trinidad and Tobago.
— What Should You Do: From February 22nd through February 24th, everyone should take the necessary precautions. Thereafter, sensitive groups should continue take the necessary precautions, particularly during high traffic and in the vicinity of fires.
Current AQI Levels Across T&T
As of 1:00 PM, February 22nd, 2026, all official air quality monitoring stations from the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) are not reporting PM2.5 (particulates smaller than 2.5 micrometers in size, typically associated with increases in Saharan Dust, vehicle exhaust, and smoke) and PM10 particulate data.
However, unofficial air quality monitoring stations in Longdenville and Woodbrook report moderate air quality.
Outside of rainfall, visibility, used as a proxy for Saharan Dust concentrations, at the A.N.R. Robinson International Airport at Crown Point, Tobago, and at Piarco, remains at 10 kilometers over the last 24 hours.
Editor’s note: The EMA’s air quality dashboard has not been reporting PM2.5 or PM10 particulate data for some time due to equipment upgrades. Although the EMA’s dashboard may show good air quality during this Saharan Dust event, this data is based on carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrous oxide, and sulphur dioxide measurements – not Saharan Dust particulates.
Saharan Dust Forecast For T&T
February 22nd through February 23rd: Increasing Saharan Dust concentrations, particularly from midday Sunday, February 22nd, peaking overnight into Monday, February 23rd, with air quality levels likely reaching unhealthy for sensitive groups, possibly reaching unhealthy levels across Trinidad. Horizontal visibility will be reduced to below 5 kilometers.
February 24th through February 28th: Decreasing but still high concentrations of Saharan Dust through the four-day period, with air quality levels gradually improving from unhealthy for sensitive groups to moderate. Horizontal visibility remains diminished below 10 kilometers throughout the forecast period.
What does this mean for you?
With air quality possibly reaching unhealthy levels on Sunday and Monday, everyone may begin to experience health effects, and members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects. Everyone should take the necessary precautions, particularly through February 23rd, when peak concentrations are forecast.
From February 24th, air quality is forecast to gradually improve across Trinidad and Tobago as higher concentrations of Saharan Dust move westward. However, with elevated concentrations still present and drier conditions increasing the risk of fires, air quality is forecast to remain reduced, with further reductions in areas affected by fires, blowing smoke and dust, and high traffic.
We’ve entered a period in which a ridge of high pressure remains over the central Sahara Desert, while the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) remains over the Gulf of Guinea, extending southwestward to Brazil. The Harmattan wind (see below) accelerates when it blows across the mountain massifs of Northwest Africa. If its speed is high enough and it blows over dust source regions, it lifts the dust and disperses it.
The dust surges during this time of year are due to the Harmattan, a season across the West African subcontinent that occurs between the end of November and the middle of March. During this season, a predominant northeasterly trade wind (dubbed the Harmattan Winds) blows from the Sahara Desert over Western Africa into the Gulf of Guinea.
Dust that reaches the upper levels of the atmosphere can then be transported across the Atlantic Ocean and affect the Eastern Caribbean. These Saharan Dust outbreaks tend to be milder in the Eastern Caribbean.
Larger, more concentrated plumes of Saharan dust begin in April and continue through November.
