By Paul Ukpabio
The Nigerian airspace may be shut down as Harmattan dust haze continues to be a weather issue.
This follows a weather advisory circular by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to all pilots and airlines, mandating them to ensure the use of Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) seasonal climate predictions.
According to the NCAA, safety is paramount! In a directive titled: ‘Aviation weather in the dry season,’ by the Director-General of the agency, Captain Musa Nuhu, all pilots are expected to moderate to severe dust haze, early morning fog along with coastal areas which in some instances reduces horizontal visibility to less than 200 metres.
As such, the regulatory agency may be forced to close air space. The agency also gave some instances where air traffic control may be forced to close the airspace due to inclement weather conditions.
The fall out of bad weather due to the Harmattan haze is that “air-to-ground visibility would be affected and aerodrome visibility may fall below prescribed operating minimal standard, all due to dust haze or fog. Dust haze or fog could blot out runway markers and airfield lighting over wide visual areas making visual navigation extremely difficult or impossible.”
Of course for travellers this season, it will be good to be proactive by expecting likely delays, diversions, or cancellations where terminal visibility falls below the prescribed aerodrome minima.
In a similar vein, NiMet a few days ago warned of the possibility of poor visibility ahead of the yuletide season.
NiMet Central Forecast Office said the development is a result of fresh dust plumes raised at the dust source region (Faya Largeau in the Chad Republic), which will reduce horizontal visibility in Nigeria.
“Dust haze conditions are expected to intensify before the end of the day over most of the Northern cities, horizontal visibility should further deteriorate from 0600 local times of December 15, 2021; as thick dust haze should be observed over some of the Northern cities keeping visibilities to 1000m and below over places like Maiduguri, Yobe Nguru, Potiskum, Dutse, Gombe, Yola, Bauchi, Katsina, Kano, and Kaduna,” said the agency circular few days ago.
“NiMet, therefore, warns that flight operations may be disrupted and airline operators are advised to pick up their flight folders and adhere to regulations, especially at aerodromes in the Northern parts of the country while road users should exert caution while driving along with areas with poor visibility during this period and people with respiratory problems should take caution.”
NiMet also warns that travellers should arm themselves with bottled water as they move around because there would be the need to drink more water than at other times, to prevent dehydration and so on.
