Saharan dust

The concentrations of African dust will remain high, mainly in the western and southern parts of the country

Detailed forecast for the coming days in all regions - What is the "airborne" phenomenon that mobilises the African dust phenomenon

Thursday's weather conditions in southern and western Greece are favorable for the reappearance of Saharan dust, while temperatures will rise, according to the National Meteorological Service Meteo.

Instability with localised showers in most areas until Wednesday - African dust is favoured from Thursday

The National Meteorological Service Meteo has issued a warning for ongoing rain and thunderstorms across the nation on Friday.

The eerie, orange-hued phenomenon of the Saharan dust blanketing Athens during the week has been captured by a time-lapse video released by Meteo weather service of the National Observatory of Athens.

The images were recorded on Tuesday and Wednesday, when the dust cloud was at its strongest over Greece, before receding and moving further east.

The African dust microparticles that blanketed southern Greece reached shocking concentrations in Athens of up to 700 µg/m3 on Wednesday morning when the European limit is 50 µg/m3.

The Saharan dust, called Minerva Red, started to recede as of noon, thanks to west-northwest winds.

A major plume of Saharan dust that has affected much of Greece is expected to subside during the course of Wednesday, the National Observatory of Athens' DUST/METEO service said.

Prevailing west-northwesterly winds will gradually carry the dust toward the Aegean sea, while high concentrations are expected on Thursday over the islands of the Dodecanese. 

Athens and southern parts of the country were again enveloped in Saharan dust on Tuesday, with hues of yellow and orange creating an otherworldly atmosphere.

The heavy concentration of dust particles affected most people with respiratory conditions "through the degradation of air quality," as pointed out by the Hellenic Pulmonary Society.

An "exceptional" dust cloud from the Sahara is choking parts of Europe, the continent's climate monitor said yesterday, causing poor air quality and coating windows and cars in grime.

Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service said the latest plume, the third of its kind in recent weeks, was bringing hazy conditions to southern Europe and would sweep northward as far as Scandinavia.