Capital’s air quality reaches dangerous levels

The smoke caused by the fire which broke out in Varnavas on Sunday afternoon in Varnava and quickly spread throughout northeast Attica, reaching toxic levels in the atmosphere, with an adverse impact on the health of people with pulmonary issues.

The strong gusts in the area from the outset of the fire start caused the smoke to move more than 300 kilometers from its original source, as documented by the European meteorological satellite Meteosat-11 and presented by the National Observatory of Athens' meteo.gr.

The force of the winds resulted in the dispersion of PM2.5 particles. The microparticle values reported by the Panacea National Research Infrastructure's air quality monitoring network reached levels that are hazardous to human health, particularly from Sunday night to Monday night. The rise began gradually at 4 p.m. on Sunday, but by 3 a.m. on Monday the air...