Ginagirl

My husband and I spent the month October in Northern Italy in 2001. Were the hazy skies due to: Farmers burning their fields? Fireplace usage due to cooler weather? Smog? We noticed it was worse towards the end of October and more severe near the bigger cities. It was so bad that it ruined some photo opportunities.<BR><BR>Does anyone know?<BR>

Ginagirl

anyone?

Al

My guess is that you were observing a widespread inversion layer, common in the Mediterranean when warm air overlays a cooler layer near the ground. This traps airborne smoke particles, causing a smog-like condition. When the winds rise over Africa and blow from the south, much of southern Europe is affected. This phenomenon is quite common in other parts of the world, such as the American southwest. Thunderstorms with their strong winds dissipate the cooler<BR>layer, mix the smog with rain, and the air clears in time.

bettyk

When we went to Lake Como in May of 1999, the entire area had a brown haziness to it and it's very obvious in our pictures too. Never could figure out if it was pollution or what.

x

This frequently happens when cold or cooler air mixes with the smoke generated from coal burning.

christina

ciao ginagirl<BR><BR>al gave you a very good description. we do have the same effect here in florence, where the apennin is blocking winds coming from the south. we are allways the humidest town throughout the whole year. but the north does have the alps in the back and winds from south on there feets and i remember that they had for weeks this haze. we in florence do have it continously (sp?) through the whole summertime.<BR><BR>it's allways better when it rained and when a very strong wind blowed, then it's cristall clear and the colours are beautiful as well.<BR><BR>tanti saluti<BR><BR>christina

Ginagirl

I understand it was an unusually warm and a dry October 2001. It's good to know that it won't occur every fall. I guess there are pros and cons to those rain showers.<BR><BR>Thanks everyone for your help. Now I can go back to planning my next trip to wonderful Italy.....in October of course!

weatherpenis

The haziness one sees in Italy is usually caused by the "scirocco"....no, not the Volkswagen car....the wind blowing up from Africa, carrying sand and dust from the Sahara desert.