African dust: “Orange” sky in Attica as well

The African dust from the Sahara has completely covered Attica on Tuesday afternoon.

Images from across the basin show the sky ‘painted’ an eerie dark orange hue as high concentrations of particulate matter are recorded.

It’s not enough that we have traffic, we also have the Sahara above us pic.twitter.com/wjRwkj1Vj9

When is the African dust expected to go away?

African dust has been plaguing the country since yesterday Monday, with the highest concentrations of particles recorded today Tuesday. In fact, in many areas, especially in western Greece, we had mud rains for two days. According to the forecasts of the meteorologists, the African dust is expected to recede from tomorrow Wednesday at noon, as the turn of the winds to the west will result in the limitation of the dust in the Dodecanese and its progressive removal towards the east.

How does African dust affect the respiratory system?

The African dust that covers the whole country is particularly troublesome for those with respiratory problems. The experts even advise on the use of a mask. Recently, the President of the Hellenic Society of Allergology & Clinical Immunology, Life of Demestichas explained how African dust affects our respiratory system: “Dust doesn’t just settle on the hood of vehicles. Due to its small diameter, it invades the lungs. “Due to the small size particles, the pollutants pass through the airways.., they now reach the alveoli. It is certain for them that those who have respiratory problems from allergies to lung diseases… it creates various problems.” Those with respiratory problems they should limit their activityto wear a mask and contact their doctor for reinforcement of medication.

African dust episodes are by definition combined with warm southerly winds that raise the temperature asymmetrically. Thus, April this year entered with unusually high temperatures. And this tends to become the norm. “More and more such phenomena, but no one excludes that we will also have periods when we will have the exact opposite.. What we are experiencing now is due to an increase of +1.3°C imagine how things will be when we reach +2°C or +2.5°C which is expected” notes the Professor at the Department of Physics of the University of Patras, Andreas Kazantzidis.