Dust levels expected to subside by evening
The level of dust in the air in Cyprus is expected to subside by Saturday evening, the met office said on Saturday morning.
After a red weather warning was issued for Friday, no such warning has been issued for Saturday, with the skies around the island visibly clearer than they had been.
The heightened levels of dust had been caused by air being blown northward from the Sahara, with Cyprus, southern Turkey, and southern Greece having been engulfed by the dust cloud.
As of Saturday morning, “PM10” levels – the amount of inhalable solid particles with a diameter of ten micrometres or less suspended in the air – remained far above what is considered safe by the European Union.
The EU recommends a safe limit of 50 micrograms per cubic metre (μg/m3), but in Nicosia, the level was recorded as 287.2 μg/m3 , while in Paralimni, the level was recorded as 293.6 μg/m3, and in Larnaca, the level was recorded as 299.6 μg/m3.
Elsewhere, levels were lower, with Limassol having a recorded level of 209.3 μg/m3 and Paphos having comparatively clear air, with a rate of 119.4 μg/m3.