One gateway to HELL, coming up!

[Elie]

Seriously, I doubt we have much to worry about unless something goes wrong.

Uhm remember Murphy's law???


hmmmm

[Umfriend]

Seriously, I doubt we have much to worry about unless something goes wrong.

Sometimes it's just like that, ain't it?

[Brian Ellis]

Well, it feels like a Stygian gloom just now. N. Africa is sending us a khamsin dust storm, hopefully the last one of the season. Current visibility is about 100 m with winds gusting to 13 m/s. Going outside is like being sandblasted. Because the dust intercepts the solar radiation (the sun is almost invisible in a cloudless sky), it heats up and passes the heat to the air, peaking at 32 degC wich is about 8 deg higher than average. Thursday promises 60% chance of rain which should lay it into a layer of sticky yellow mud, with the temp dropping to 10 deg on Thursday night.

Newspaper report:

Dust levels hit new high
By Stefanos Evripidou

DUST PARTICLES in the atmosphere reached their highest levels yesterday, almost 20 times the EU recommended limit, leaving the capital in a yellow haze for most of the day.

According to Labour Ministry statistics, the highest concentration of dust particles in the atmosphere was recorded at 10am yesterday in Ayia Marina, Xyliatou, reaching 966 microgrammes per cubic metre of air. In Nicosia, levels reached 607mg, in Larnaca 400mg, Zygi 244mg, Limassol 194mg and Paphos 132mg.

The dust descended on the island last Tuesday, blown east from the deserts of North Africa. Before yesterday’s record figures, Nicosia and Larnaca were hardest hit by the dust clouds, both recording dust levels up to 550mg.

The Ministry’s Air Quality Control Service uses a network of nine advanced monitoring stations to record levels. Ministry official Savvas Kleanthous earlier warned that people should avoid outdoor work or exercise when dust levels are so high.

The EU’s recommended daily limit is 50 microgrammes per cubic metre (averaged over 24 hours). The daily limit can be exceeded on up to 35 days a year to take account of unusual and adverse weather.

Head of the Meteorological Services Kyriacos Theophilou said yesterday he did not expect dust levels to drop until later that afternoon. Adding to the dusty weather, the island has experienced unseasonably high temperatures lately. Temperatures soared above the average for this time of year, going over the 30 degrees Celsius mark at the weekend. Yesterday there was some respite as temperatures dropped to 26 degrees Celsius inland and 23 on the coast. There is some possibility of localised showers tomorrow in mountain areas.