In pictures: Apocalyptic scenes in Athens as Sahara dust engulfs Greek city
Dust from Sahara Desert turns Greek city into set for Martian movie
April 24, 2024
The city of Athens in Southern Greece experienced orange skies on Tuesday as strong winds carried dust clouds from the Sahara Desert to the city, including landmarks like the Acropolis.
During the last hours of daylight, this phenomenon gave the world a peek of what a city on Mars would look like, the New York Post reported.
"It's one of the most serious episodes of dust and sand concentrations from the Sahara since March 21-22, 2018, when the clouds invaded the island of Crete in particular," said Kostas Lagouvardos, weather research director at the Athens Observatory.
The yellow-orange haze limited visibility and prompted warnings from the authorities of breathing risks.
According to the Greek weather service, the skies would begin to clear on Wednesday.
Earlier this year, Greece was had already been struck by Sahara dust clouds which also smothered parts of Switzerland and southern France.
The strong southerly winds over the past few days have also fanned unseasonal early wildfires in the country’s south with the fire service on Tuesday reporting a total of 25 wildfires across the country in the past 24 hours.
