Apocalyptic images from Greece. The sky has turned orange and Athens is barely visible after being covered in Saharan dust

A wave of Saharan dust blanketed Athens and other Greek cities, being considered one of the worst such episodes to hit the country in 2018, meteorologists quoted by The Guardian said.

A yellow-orange haze smothered several regions, fueled by strong southerly winds. Visibility was severely limited and authorities warned the public of health risks.

“It is one of the worst episodes of dust and sand concentrations in the Sahara since March 21-22, 2018, when clouds covered especially the island of Crete,” said Kostas Lagouvardos, director of meteorological research at the Athens Observatory.

Greece had already been hit by a wave of Saharan dust in late March and early April. Also then, a similar phenomenon was registered in areas of Switzerland and the south of France.

Authorities have warned that dust concentrations can reduce sunlight and visibility, while increasing concentrations of fine pollution particles, which increases the risk to people with respiratory health problems.

Strong southerly winds in recent days have also caused wildfires in the south of the country. The fire service reported on Tuesday evening that 25 fires had broken out across the country in the past 24 hours. Three people were arrested on the island of Paros, in the Aegean resort, on suspicion of accidentally starting a fire in which several cars were destroyed.

Another fire broke out in Crete near a naval base, which was extinguished by firefighters called to the scene.

Publisher: GM

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