Imagine waking up to an alien landscape. That’s what residents of Athens, Greece faced recently, as their usually blue skies turned a startling red, yellow, and orange. The culprit? An epic dust storm originating from the vast Sahara Desert.
Strong winds whipped the arid region, transporting fine sand particles across the Mediterranean Sea. This wasn’t just an isolated incident; the dust choked skies across Greece, prompting local officials to declare it one of the worst dust storms since 2018.
This isn’t the first time such a phenomenon has unfolded. In 2020, a colossal dust storm cloud from the Sahara billowed across the Atlantic, reaching all the way to the Americas. The massive plume, visible from space, significantly impacted air quality in the Caribbean.
Scientists are particularly concerned about the increasing frequency and intensity of these storms, not only in Athens but also in places like China (which faced severe dust storms last year). They believe human activity might be a key factor in this worrisome trend.
Our land-use practices, including intensive agriculture, deforestation, excessive water usage, and rapid urbanization, all contribute to desertification. This, in turn, creates more source material for these powerful dust storms. The dust appears to have cleared off by Wednesday, according to weather reports.
Reference- The Guardian, Weather Reportse, social media platform X-formerly-Twitter, The Telegraph