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Southern Greece has been engulfed in an orange haze due to clouds of dust blowing in from the Sahara desert. This is one of the worst episodes of its kind to hit Greece since 2018. Similar clouds had already hit Greece, Switzerland and Southern France in late March and early April. The weather service in Greece has predicted that the skies will clear on Wednesday. However, the air quality has deteriorated in many parts of the country, and the dust cloud has reached as far north as Thessaloniki. The people with respiratory conditions have been advised to limit their time outdoors, wear protective masks and avoid physical exercise until the dust clears.
The Sahara desert releases 60 to 200 million tonnes of mineral dust every year, most of which quickly descends to the earth. However, some small particles can travel long distances, sometimes even reaching Europe. The atmosphere in Southern Greece has become stifling due to the combination of dust and high temperatures. One meteorologist has even compared the view from one weather station to that of the planet Mars. On Tuesday, the fire service reported 25 wildfires in the past 24 hours, and homes and a kindergarten had to be evacuated on the island of Crete.
Dust plumes from the Sahara are not uncommon across Europe and can vary in intensity. However, they tend to occur most often during the spring and autumn. This current event was caused by an area of low pressure over Libya, which brought in strong southerly winds, drawing in high concentrations of dust and sand from North Africa into Greece, particularly on Tuesday. The southerly winds also brought hot desert air with them, and temperatures rose to well above the average for late April across the Greek mainland and islands, with 36.6C recorded in the Chania region of Crete.
Over the past few days, strong southerly winds have caused unseasonal early wildfires in the southern part of the country. Within the last 24 hours, the fire service has reported 25 wildfires. One of the fires broke out near a naval base on the island of Crete, where temperatures rose above 30C (86F). As a result, homes and a kindergarten had to be evacuated, according to local reports. However, no significant damage or injuries were reported, and the fires were quickly contained.
The highest concentrations of dust will be focussed further east on Wednesday as a cold front with cleaner, fresher air continues to sweep in from the west. By the end of the week, fresher, cleaner air will return to the eastern Mediterranean with temperatures also back closer to normal for the time of year.
