Dust clouds originating from the Sahara Desert have swept over Athens and other Greek cities, casting an apocalyptic orange hue over the sky. The dust traveled across the Mediterranean Sea on strong northwesterly winds, reaching Greece on Tuesday, April 23rd. Iconic landmarks like the Acropolis were engulfed in a fiery haze, prompting authorities to issue a health warning due to the presence of fine dust particles in the air. The event is expected to clear up on Wednesday as the winds shift eastward. Kostas Lagouvardos, a meteorologist and research director at the National Observatory of Athens, stated that the Saharan dust transfer event, known as Minerva Red, is expected to recede. The dominance of west-northwest winds will gradually shift the dust concentrations towards the Aegean Sea, with the highest concentrations predicted to reach the Dodecanese islands in the southeastern Aegean by Thursday, April 25th. Kostas Lagouvardos compared the orange-hazed Athens to a “colony on Mars.” This weather phenomenon is considered one of the most severe dust and sand events from the Sahara since March 21-22, 2018, when clouds invaded the island of Crete. Saharan dust storms are relatively common, with clouds previously carried by northerly winds to Greece in late March and early April. Dust storms earlier this month also transported fine particles to Switzerland and southern France. According to the Associated Press, between 66 million and 220 million tons of mineral dust are swept up from the Sahara annually. While larger particles fall back down quickly, the smaller specks can travel thousands of miles across Europe. Saharan dust clouds can even cross the Atlantic Ocean, sometimes reaching the Caribbean and the Florida peninsula in the United States.
Dust Storm Engulfs Athens, Greece
