CYPRUS was covered in dust again yesterday but unlike previous clouds, which have come from the Sahara and the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, the current dust cloud appears to have come from the south, south east, and even mainland Turkey.
Harris Zachariades, Meteorological Service Officer, said yesterday this dust cloud was the result of a low pressure system over the eastern Mediterranean. “This enables the dust to lift up into the air. As the low pressure system weakens I expect the dust levels will decrease.”
Asked about the time frame, he said that by the end of today, the air should have cleared. “From the weather conditions today I can deduce that tomorrow (Saturday) the dust situation will improve.”
Beyond that it was not possible to make an accurate prediction, however Zachariades said “There is no geological reason for dust to be in the air on Monday.
The cloud is expected to cause an increase in hospital admissions for respiratory and heart conditions. On Thursday the House Environment Committee discussed the problems associated with the increasing frequency of dust clouds.
Committee Chairman and AKEL MP Andreas Fakontis said: “In the past dust only clouded Cyprus in the spring, now it arrives in all seasons and for longer periods.”
This, he said, had directly caused an increase in hospital visits and even more deaths.
“From once or twice a year, today we have dust in the atmosphere 10 to 16 times a year. And whereas it only used to last for one or two days, now it has increased from four to six days.”
To deal with the matter, the AKEL deputy said the government had already prepared a specific action plan aimed at dealing with natural pollution, which has been sent to the European Commission.
“Regarding inter-border dust, efforts to collaborate with other states are being made,” he added. “We were informed that in June the government will submit a bill to harmonise local laws with an EU directive that aims to take measures to reduce problems caused from atmosphere pollution and from the dust.”
Kyriakos Hadjiyiannis of DISY said Cyprus was currently affected by dust excess for 140 days a year, when the acceptable limit is 35 days. “The internal factors contribute to 20 days; this means that the Cypriot public is inhaling these harmful substances for 140 days a year, which is much more than other countries,” he pointed out.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have the ability to impose conditions on other states to achieve a reduction, but the EU has a common action plan of measures. Even though this doesn’t regard third countries, we need to take the initiative and apply to the EU to help us convince neighbouring countries to take immediate measures,” said Hadjiyiannis.
