I woke up Tuesday morning, to an apartment flooded with a weird orangish light. I went out on the mirpeset to see what was going on and was greeted by the scene in the pictures below (sorry for the spot in the middle, I think my iphone lens is scratched) . There were police and ambulance sirens all around the roads below us, but we couldn't see what was going on. I checked the news and found out that there was a sand/dush storm that came from Syria (does Syria ever export anything good?).
The air pollution in Jerusalem on Tuesday and Wednesday was rated 999, the worst possible score. They said that young kids, the elderly and anyone with asthma should stay inside. Of course nobody (myself included) listened and over 300 people had to be treated for severe respiratory issues. Fortunately we rented a car so we could get around and run errands before Yom Tov, so we were able to get around without breathing too much air. The one time I had to walk outside with Matis, someone from our building picked us up on the side of the road and gave us a ride.
Even without spending too much time outside, my lips are drier than they get in the Detroit winters and my throat has been itching like crazy. Thursday was a little clearer so I was outside more and when I came back home it felt like there was a layer of dust in my lungs, not fun. The air pollution is down to somewhere in the 300s (normal clean air is 50 or lower), but they don't know when the air will be clear again. It doesn't help that the temperature has been close to 100 every day this week. Is it too early to pray for rain?
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