19k and a gift box
The dust was weird, but it wasn't that strong. Not as bad as the pollen tastes when the count goes over 9,000 particles per cubic meter. Or even over 4,000. (Okay, the 9k+ has only happened a handful of times. The 4,000-6,000 is several days every single year; anything over 1500 is "extremely high" - the highest level of the scale, so we're just completely off the chart regarding pollen. I've lived in other areas considered "bad," but they were nothing.*) I was wearing a mask back when we were being told to save them for healthcare workers, and I wanted to write a sign "this is over 10 years old and it's only a comfort mask.' Oh, how things have changed!
Blue, having to keep buildings locked up tight isn't good for Covid-19! (Neither are evacuations, mass shelters, etc.) These dual disasters are so tough.
We're having the remnants of Sally right now. We're supposed to get 4-6" of rain, possibly more. It was supposed to start around 5, then the heavy rain was supposed to start around 11pm and last until 7am. We were already at an inch at 4:30. and the heavy stuff started around 9:30. They haven't changed the ending time yet. I need to make sure I go to sleep during a less heavy band.
*I had to look up what the worst pollen season in the world is. I'm not sure it's the highest, but
Islamabad apparently routinely has counts in the 30,000's, with records above 50,000. That's... that's... I can't even. It's paper mulberry, so the pollen is microscopic, but still... It's got to be visible at that density. The air here takes on a yellow-greenish hue, and even the sun is a little hazy behind it all.