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Large quantities of African dust have recently reached Greece. The devices of Athens University reported the presence of more than 700 micrograms of dust per square metre in central Greece on Wednesday morning. The African dust was brought by the storms that hit the country in the form of dust rain.

We are talking about a phenomenon that occurs frequently at this time of year in the Mediterranean.

Describing the mechanism of its emergence, meteorologist Thodoris Kolidas from the National Weather Service states for Ethnos newspaper that "in late May and early June there is an active cyclone activity near the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. This means that air masses with very low atmospheric pressure are being formed. With the help of the subtropical flow, a kind of "air-river", these air masses set off to the African continent. They float east and northeast, and when they reach Tunisia or Libya, they enter the sea. The Sahara is on their way from Morocco to these two countries and when the air masses pass above the desert, they grow stronger, thus creating sandstorms whereas ascending air currents raise large amounts of dust at about 5-6 km above the earth."

The process

This dust settles down and does not fall down in the form of rain while it is above the sea, as, at this time of year, the Mediterranean is still relatively cold and not conducive to precipitation. Once it reaches land, however, the first areas usually being the Peloponnese or Sicily, the African dust falls down to the ground either due to its own weight or in the form of rain. Do not forget that rains are common at this time of year."

The all-time record of African dust transferred was registered in May 1903. Simulations made later with the help of mathematical models estimated that about 1.3 tons of dust were transferred from Africa across Europe at that time. Sand from the desert was found even in the Nordic countries.

The phenomenon of "dust rain", however, impressed even people in antiquity.

From the age of Homer

As pointed out by Thodoris Kolidas in his book "Weather Walk", the phenomenon was described by Homer, who speaks of "a bloody rain that is falling from the sky as Zeus has decided to send many brave men to Hell..."

Kostas Lagouvardos from the National Observatory in Athens states, "Last year the dust rains came a little earlier than usual, almost in the winter," adding, "It is not expected that the phenomenon will continue in the coming days. Apparently, things calm down, temperatures will rise, and it will rain and storms will arise mainly in the mountainous areas in the afternoon, which is usual for the season. The low atmospheric pressure, which had an impact on the weather in Greece, is going away and everything shows that the typical summer is coming."