Air quality deteriorates due to dust

DRIVERS heading to work yesterday morning were greeted by the sight of a dust film covering their cars, a result of an increased amount of pollutants in the atmosphere.

The levels of particulate matter PM 10 in the atmosphere yesterday ranged between 65 and 187 micrograms per cubic metre.

This far exceeded the safe upper threshold, set by EU regulation at 50, and prompted the Department of Labour Inspection to issue a warning for all vulnerable groups to stay indoors.

Children, the elderly and the sick were told to avoid venturing outside until the dust settles.

They should not have to wait too long however since the dust is expected to settle by this afternoon, said meteorological officer Panayiotis Michael.

“The phenomenon of dust in the atmosphere in Cyprus is not a rare one for this time of the year,” Michael said adding that eastern and north eastern winds tend to carry dust from Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

This is only part of the picture however, the other being that Cyprus is one of the EU member states which could incur penalties set from the European Court of Justice over non-compliance with air quality limit values for PM 10.

If it gets to that, Cyprus will have to demonstrate that it has indeed being taking steps to achieve compliance.

In the meantime, people are warned to hold on to their umbrellas for a couple of days longer.

Isolated rain and thunderstorms might upset afternoon strolls both today and tomorrow but it should be mostly clear skies and higher temperatures for the weekend, meteorological services say.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.