Time: Despite her gradual withdrawal African dust from the sky of our country, the atmosphere is still stifling.
The orange cloud of African dust that covered Greece has begun to dissipate and in most areas of the country the sun is shining again.
But the apnea combined with the high temperatures add up a dangerous “cocktail” for our health.
Medical associations and the Ministry of Health they recommend vulnerable groups not to be exposed for long hours outside closed spaces and to wear masks.
What did the electron microscope show?
The Hellenic Geological and Mining Research Authority prepared a particularly interesting study on the composition of African dust.
Collecting and analyzing, using the new state-of-the-art JSM-IT500L scanning electron microscope, which has the ability to magnify up to 300,000 times, a sample of the African dust that has blanketed Attica confirmed what pulmonologists had been ringing the bell about all along space.
In other words, that in addition to the African dust, dangerous elements (suspended particles) that are transported due to it also pass through our respiratory system.
In particular, while visually the dust does not exceed 10μm in size, its chemical composition includes the elements aluminum (Al), silicon (Si) and calcium (Ca) with a minimum percentage of iron (Fe) and titanium (Ti). And as pointed out in the announcement of the EAGME, the African dust is essentially a plaything that floats and moves due to the winds and its small size.
The African dust that carries particles in a wide range of sizes, such as PM10, PM2.5 or even much smaller, while it can also carry pollutants from the atmosphere according to ERT meteorologist Panagiotis Yiannopoulos, is gradually moving away from the west of the country. In particular, this afternoon the phenomenon will have been limited to the eastern Aegean and by evening the atmosphere will have cleared.
The Ministry of Health, following the regularly scheduled briefing by the Ministry of Environment and Energy (last briefing today at 8:00) and within the framework of its responsibilities for the protection of public health, recommends the following instructions for informing the public with precautionary measures as following:
A. Recommendations for people at increased risk
People with respiratory problems, heart patients, children, as well as people over 65 years of age:
They should avoid any physical exercise-activity outdoors.
It is also recommended to avoid staying outdoors, especially in areas with increased traffic.
People with asthma may need more frequent inhalations of reliever medicine. If symptoms persist, it is recommended to contact the attending physician.
B. Recommendations to the general population
Every person is advised to avoid any physical exercise outdoors and to limit the time spent outdoors especially in areas with increased traffic. During his stay indoors, doors, balcony doors and windows should be kept closed.
Weather: Rains are coming
According to forecasters, the weather is expected to be generally good on Friday and into the weekend with reduced offshore winds and good for the season temperatures.
At the same time, as he adds, according to today’s data, from next Sunday and most days of Holy Week, the weather conditions will be good “in most areas of the country with a few local showers in the mountains of central and northern Greece during the warm hours of day”.
As for the weather on Easter, he emphasizes that “although relatively far, with today’s forecast data, it remains puzzling for Sunday (5/5) in terms of the possibility of occurrence of phenomena and in which regions of the country because, in terms of temperature, it should still looking toward spring.”
