Huge clouds of sand and dust from the Sahara caused stuffy air in Athens and other parts of Greece again on Wednesday morning. The day before, hospitals and doctors’ offices had already treated more patients than usual. Meteorologists have now given the all-clear: the phenomenon is expected to subside during the day as westerly winds drive the dust eastwards. What remains is a red layer of fine dust that covers cars and balconies everywhere and sticks to the windows.
Due to climatic conditions, the Attica region around Athens is regularly affected by the phenomenon, especially in spring and autumn, said meteorologists to the daily newspaper “Kathimerini”. Warm southerly winds carrying dust from Africa meet cooler currents from the north, causing the dust-carrying warm air to rise to heights of up to two kilometers and remain there. Because the dust particles reflected the sun’s rays, the sky glowed hazy red, said Nikos Michalopoulos from the National Observatory of Athens.
Sahara dust darkens Athens
As exciting as the phenomenon was to observe, it was problematic for people: many suffered from dry, itchy eyes and a scratchy throat, and it was difficult to breathe in Athens over the past two days.
The island of Crete was also badly affected by the dust. Although the fine dust pollution was very high this time, it was still far from a record. “A few years ago there was a pollution level of 3,000 micrograms per cubic meter of air,” recalled Michalopoulos. The daily average limit is actually 50 micrograms per cubic meter.