Dust is in the air all across Cyprus on Monday

[Paphos Life]

High concentrations of dust are observed in the air on Monday, according to measurements from ground Stations of the Air Quality Monitoring Network operated by the Department of Labour Inspection....

Read the article and chat about it below...

[Devil]

The latest hourly dust concentrations measured at 8.00 am on Monday were in Nicosia 82 μg/m3, in Limassol 72 μg/m3, in Larnaca 62 μg/m3, in Paphos 65 μg/m3, in Paralimni 51 μg/m3, in Zygi 47 μg/m3 and in Ayia Marina Xyliatou 72 μg/m3.

Ignoring the last named (I don't know where it is), the concentrations in the towns are very roughly in proportion to the populations, implying perhaps that dust may be traffic -related. In any case the article refers to PM 10 which is the least dangerous of the dust levels that are measured and is generally acceptable up to 100 µg/m³. The current level here, in Mosfiloti, is about 20 µg/m³, but I would expect it to be lower than in the cities where most of the PM 10 dust is generated by vehicles, especially diesels.

It must be noted that dust levels can vary almost from minute to minute so having a spot check at a given time is meaningless. Only the 24-hour average can give an indication at a given location. It should also be noted that PM 10 dust is not particularly dangerous because it's retained largely by the body fluids in the nose and throat and normally should never reach the bronchus. The same cannot be said of the finer dust such as PM 2.5 and PM 1.0, which can reach the alveoli in the lungs. As I write, the PM 1.0 is quite low at 8 µg/m³ and does not apparently constitute a hazard to human health, according to most authorities.

[Paul]

When I looked outside this morning I was surprised by how strong the wind was blowing.

I was even more surprised when I went outside as to how warm the wind was.

Plus the dust in the air when driving down to Paphos from Tsada.

Paul

[chatsworth]

It is widely accepted by the folks who study these things that the occasions of high dust levels in Cyprus are increasing yearly and are caused by the Sahara sand storms rising higher due to increased temperatures and whilst blowing around collecting toxins, pollen and other irritants.
The dusty atmosphere over Cyprus is causing more and more people to experiance long term breathing problems such as asthma etc.
The above info extracted from an EUObserver Health article.

[cyprusmax47]

The latest hourly dust concentrations measured at 8.00 am on Monday were in Nicosia 82 μg/m3, in Limassol 72 μg/m3, in Larnaca 62 μg/m3, in Paphos 65 μg/m3, in Paralimni 51 μg/m3, in Zygi 47 μg/m3 and in Ayia Marina Xyliatou 72 μg/m3.

Ignoring the last named (I don't know where it is), the concentrations in the towns are very roughly in proportion to the populations, implying perhaps that dust may be traffic -related. In any case the article refers to PM 10 which is the least dangerous of the dust levels that are measured and is generally acceptable up to 100 µg/m³. The current level here, in Mosfiloti, is about 20 µg/m³, but I would expect it to be lower than in the cities where most of the PM 10 dust is generated by vehicles, especially diesels.

There is no wonder that the dust level PM10 at Paphos 8 AM is high, as the Paphos test station is very close to one of the most busy roads at the parking place in the center of this image. The station itself one cannot see on the Green Air webcam, only the sensors a bit...
I took the screenshot this morning ca 8 AM and the PM10 was 53, second highest after Nicosia 73.

webcam Green Air 4.11. 21 2.JPG (82.25 KiB) Viewed 1054 times

Max